This story was updated on Feb. 12 at 10:00 a.m. to reflect superintendent and school Board comments.

The superintendent and her husband are embroiled in controversy over online harassment charges made public at Tuesday’s Board meeting.

Dr. Laurie Kimbrel, Tam District superintendent, and her husband were accused of targeting a district parent in defamatory online comments made last fall.

Mitchell Wortzman, the parent, claimed that he had been harassed through comments on the Friends of Tam Union District Facebook group, which is comprised of district parents, students and community members, as well as in the comments section of the Marin Independent Journal website. Kimbrel and the Board have denied Kimbrel’s involvement with the comments.

In an emailed statement, Kimbrel said, “The presentation made by a handful of parents at last night’s Board meeting is flatly untrue.  The Board has clear, indisputable evidence that the Superintendent had nothing to do with the postings in question.  Why this small group persists in peddling this false tale is known only to them, but this deplorable tactic creates a corrosive environment and sets a terrible example for our students.”

The announcement of the allegation came soon after a majority of tenured Redwood teachers expressed their discontent with Kimbrel and the current state of the district. Prior to a Board of Trustees meeting in January, Kimbrel announced her plans to resign at the end of the school year.

Wortzman said the comments began on Oct. 28, after he sent letters to the Board regarding Kimbrel’s proposed salary increase.

The offending comments were published under the pseudonym “Tom Ohara,” and accused Wortzman of embezzling funds and being a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The comments in the Facebook group were viewed by over 4,000 people, Wortzman alleged.

Wortzman said that he traced the postings’ IP address to Burke Industries in San Jose, where Kimbrel’s husband is employed.

Documents received by the Bark detail the comments made by “Tom Ohara” and the Board’s response to Wortzman’s requests for an apology.

On Dec. 17, Wortzman’s lawyer contacted the Board and asked them to investigate these messages and apologize.

A Dec. 22 letter sent to Wortzman’s attorney on behalf of the Board claimed that the accusation was untrue and inappropriate in its use to attack the District and Superintendent.

The letter stated, “The Superintendent did not post any comments about Mr. Wortzman on Facebook and has assured the District she did not have knowledge of any such action. To continue to suggest otherwise would demonstrate a reckless disregard for the truth which could only be seen as an attempt to damage Dr. Kimbrel.”

Wortzman said that he was dissatisfied with the Board’s response.

“What I really want is a retraction and public apology. I can’t put a price tag on my reputation and integrity,” Wortzman said at the meeting.

After Wortzman’s statement, multiple audience members echoed his displeasure. Some even read from the extensive list of comments posted by “Tom Ohara.”

The comments included “The wortzman [sic] lynch mob has you brainwashed,” posted on Oct. 28 at 9:58 p.m. in the Friends of Tam Union District Facebook group, and “The district is not on attack mode. They are daily fighting off the lies and innuendos being forwarded by Mitch Wortzman and his chapter of the KKK,” posted a few minutes later from the same location.

Another comment accused Wortzman of embezzlement.

“I hear [Wortzman] is embezzling from his company. The indictment should be out soon,” the comment, posted on the same date in the same location at 10 p.m., read.

“My family felt threatened by the severity of these attacks and their violent imagery,” Wortzman said during the Public Comment period of the Board meeting. “The accusations of financial misconduct were clearly intended to damage my reputation.”

On Feb. 11, the Board released a statement saying an independent investigator was retained to look into the allegations.

Kimbrel was absent from the meeting on Feb. 10 due to illness.

The story will be updated as more information comes to light.