South Dakota Legislature

State Capitol, 500 East Capitol, Pierre, South Dakota 57501-5070

September 5, 2017

Senator Deb Peters

Chair, Government Operations & Audit Committee
705 North Sagehorn Drive
Hartford, SD 57033

RE: Inappropriate Comments & Treatment of Mrs. LuAnn Werdel

Madam Chairwoman Peters,

In the flurry of activity last Tuesday, and the exhaustion of the day, your comments about Mrs. Werdel
and declaration she would be questioned further, did not register until after the hearing was adjourned.
This letter is my official response and opposition to those comments and distractionary actions.

The evidence filed with the GOAC Tuesday, was about an hours worth of recorded testimony from
former SD DOE Director of Indian Education Mrs. LuAnn Werdel detailing how she reported abuses
of the GEAR Up and other grants to Keith Moore, Melody Schopp, and numerous others, from the time
she became director of Indian Education for DOE until her apparent firing for that whistleblower
activity on January 10, 2011. You acknowledged dismissively that you watched Mrs. Werdels short
KELO interview, and that you had not reviewed the lengthy recordings.

During the July 24th GOAC hearing, Sec. Schopp maintained the narrative that she and DOE were
unaware of the problems at Mid-Central Education Cooperative until Legislative Audits reports of
2015. Sec. Schopp appeared visibly shaken when questioned regarding information that Mrs. Werdel
& Roger Campbell were fired/forced to resign due to whistleblower retaliation for reporting illegal
activity with the GEAR UP grants, and emails documenting such reporting. Sec. Schopp indicated
Mrs. Werdel was let go by the Daugaard administration simply as a change of administration, not for
cause or retaliation, dismissed any information provided by Mrs. Werdels as hearsay, and was
dismissive of the existence of emails documenting such reports.

After GOAC adopted and submitted my detailed questions about Mrs. Werdels emails, to Sec. Schopp,
and she became aware Mrs. Werdels Jan 10th, 2011, email existed outside state control, Sec. Schopp
released that damning email, along with irrelevant emails and comments meant to support a new
narrative attacking Mrs. Werdels character and impugning the nature of her employment.

After Rep. Wismer and I demanded Sec. Schopp comply with GOACs official requests for Mr. Roger
Campbells emails, which Sec. Schopp conveniently excluded from her required responses, Mr. Paul
Bechand responded with a dilatory release of Mr. Roger Campbells emails in the middle of the night
on the day of the GOACs August 29th meeting, with additional attacks on Mrs. Werdels character and
credibility with the inappropriate and unsubstantiated comment To be blunt, the personnel issues
surrounding Mrs. Werdel had considerable impact on her credibility.

Mr. Bechand, Sec. Schopp, and your comments during the GOAC meeting attacking Mrs. Werdels
character, are reminiscent of similar tactics used to historically discriminate against Native Americans,
and are the go to retaliation tactics of government officials against whistleblowers. I condemn such
dishonest tactics and oppose the use of the GOAC to perpetuate them. Mr. Bechands is NOT a witness
and his comments have no legitimate place in the GOAC process.

Mrs. Werdels January 2011s concerns about GEAR UP are corroborated by her successor Mr. Roger
Campbells emails; the Attorney Generals criminal trial; AND, the Legislative Audits findings of
mismanagement of GEAR UP! Mrs. Werdels credibility is not at issue!

Demanding Mrs. Werdel answer questions, without the committee bothering to review her testimony,
with your statement questioning her testimony that she ..needs to back it up, adopts Mr. Bechand &
Sec. Schopps inappropriate retaliatory narrative attacks on her character. It sends an intentionally
hostile message to other whistleblowers and one of support to those responsible for this scandal. I
reject these unethical courses of action and demand the full GOAC vote upon pursuing them.

I concur with Senator Blake Curds recent concerns to the press about the lack of GOAC progress in
the GEAR UP corruption. It is way past time for the GOAC to thoroughly review the operations of the
DOEs handling of GEAR UP in a professional and organized fashion. It is past time to officially
summon actual material witnesses like Rick Melmer, Brinda Kuhn, Keith Moore, Melody Schopp,
Tamera Darnell, Stacey Phelps, Dan Guirke, Kelly Duncan, and other responsible individuals, to come
before the GOAC under oath to answer questions about how $62 Million taxpayer dollars were spent
with such little oversight, with so many conflicting entanglements by officials who received mass
amounts of tax payer monies, and with no credible discernible results of assisting South Dakotas
Native American youth, for over 12 years!

Fiat justitia ruat caelum..

Senator Stace Nelson