sCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS DOXXED

History 

As schools went online during government-mandated lockdowns, parents and community members were able to see what was taking place in the public school classrooms. Social media was the conduit to provide citizens with a view inside the local classrooms. A Facebook post was made of a Newberg, Oregon High School counselor sitting in a room and in the background, the viewer could see a poster with the black fist of the Black Lives Matter movement and also a symbolic rainbow-colored pride flag. These were polarizing images to members of the Community in 2021. Some individuals believed these symbols communicated acceptance and support to certain groups in the community, while others felt these symbols were unnecessary and even undermined the strongly held beliefs and teachings of other community members and their attending students. For most, the goal was inclusivity, but the result was polarization, bringing division to the community. 

Board Makeup 

The Newberg School District's board In November 2021 consisted of four conservative board members, Dave Brown, Brian Shannon, Trevor DeHart, and Renee Powell. There were also three Progressive members, Brandy Penner, Ines Pene’, and Rebecca Piros rounding out the 7-member board. 

Policy GBG 

The conservative board majority crafted (with the review and approval of three lawyers) and passed School Board Policy GBG which only allowed the display of the American and Oregon State flag in public schools. The intent was to remove any political or controversial symbols from public school property or employ display of such items, all while respecting the constitutional rights of students. This was one of many steps the board planned to take in order to return the focus back to academic excellence and in so doing, prepare students for success. 

Board Assertion 

A school board’s job is to craft policy and direct the superintendent to balance the needs of all students with the goal of helping students reach their full potential and be academically prepared for adulthood and successful careers. The board was met with a backlash from the NEEd (Newberg Equity in Education) Facebook group that considers itself an action group, state lawmakers, and local elected officials including Mayor Rick Rogers, who was featured on local news, all standing against the ban. The ACLU, and NEA (Newberg Education Association i.e. teachers union) pledged to fight the ban through legal channels. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against the Newberg School District on behalf of Ms. Shotts, an openly queer staff member at Dundee Elementary, claiming freedom of speech to post a pride symbol in the classroom window. 

The Doxxing 

Debbie Tofte, Katherine Barnett, AJ Schwanz and Tamara Brookfield members of the NEEd Facebook group, released the professional and personal information of the 4 conservative board members to the NEEd’s visible private Facebook group. Beginning on page 16 of the legal Opinion it reveals the in-depth efforts and motivations of the 4 defendants who doxed the conservative board members. Yamhill Advocate a local reporter provides screenshots and a narrative of the coordinated effort that was occurring in this Facebook group.  

Each of the four school board members' lives were drastically altered due to the organized doxxing.  The NEA members organized postcard-writing campaigns directed at each board member. Each of the four board members stated they received a plethora of postcards with derogatory remarks, requests for them to die, demands to change their vote, demands for resignations, and repeated accusations of being racist, homophobic, and bigots. There was also a social media campaign to repeat the rhetoric to the larger community. Board members lived in fear and had anxiety from the treatment they received. 

Director Dave Brown, a girl’s tennis coach at Canby High School, along with his wife Judy Brown, had to defend their employment positions. Canby High School was called by multiple people falsely accusing Dave Brown of being a racist, bigot, homophobe and unsafe to be around youth. Mr. Brown was aware of the efforts of those in the Newberg community attempting to have his employment with Canby High School terminated. There were Canby community members who defended his character to the Superintendent and the athletic director, thus preserving his employment. Mr. Brown received numerous cards from NEA members, defaming him and making untrue accusations about his character. Death threats, property damage, and organized harassment moved the Browns to increase security at their home for personal safety.

Director Powell’s three-year relationship with Potters Vineyard winery was cancelled due to the winery being under pressure by local members of Progressive Yamhill, a branch of the Democrat Party, to not allow her to hang her art due to their untrue assertions that she was homophobic and a racist. Newberg, Oregon's 5-star hotel, The Allison Inn and Spa, and their restaurant, Jory, had purchased Renee’ Powell's art previously for their rooms. After being contacted by community members, making false assertions, The Allison chose to remove Renee’s art from the hotel and restaurant. 

The owners of Coffee Cottage, a local coffee shop, were contacted and were asked not to allow Ms. Powell any further shows. The owners were upset by the untrue, racist, and homophobic assertion expressed to them by members of the community. The owners were upset by the false accusations and chose to support Mrs. Powell privately by commissioning her to do artwork for their family. Her art website had to remove any establishment that could potentially be harassed into removing her work. This caused considerable harm to her income and livelihood. Mrs. Powell and her family were not safe in their home. There were incidents of an unknown occupied car parked outside her home overnight and a car with an occupant taking pictures of her home, that were both reported to the police. 

Director Trevor DeHart received numerous postcards complete with NEA logo accusing him of being, a racist, bigot, fascist, and misogynist. These postcards from the teachers’ union admonished Mr. DeHart demanding he reverse his stance. He received numerous emails, phone calls, and texts maligning his character and even threatening his life. The DeHart children were ultimately temporarily removed from the Newberg School District over concerns of biased treatment due to his work on the school board. Mr. DeHart was forced to increase home security for his family and alter their lifestyle and daily routine. 

His wife, a Yamhill County business owner, was impacted by her husband's stance on the school board. She lost clients due to the false statements that were propagated on social media. 

Vice Chair Brian Shannon lost his employment due to harassing phone calls from the public to his employer. Director Shannon incurred property damage the night of the board vote, there was an attempt to sabotage his internet cable. Death threats became a common occurrence in his life.  

Legal pursuits 

The four Conservative School Board Members have just completed two years of legal pursuits to halt the onslaught of malicious and untrue attacks. They sued the individuals who doxxed them. Doxxing has three definitions 1. Doxxing for malicious purposes. 2. Doxxing for political purposes: and 3, doxxing by members of anonymous online communities as a tool for internal regulation; (i.e., ‘unmasking’).” The first two definitions were the intent of the lawsuit. 

Judge Jennifer K. Chapman of Yamhill County Circuit Court presided over the case and on June 6, 2023, she provided a bench ruling in favor of the school board members, determining they had suffered emotional distress, anxiety, and fear due to the actions of defendants, Tofte, Schwanz, Brookfield, and Barnett. The defendants then filed for an appeal and the presiding judge, P.J. Tookey ruled in favor of the defendants, with a reversed and remanded ruling. 

The attorney for the four school board members has filed a brief with the Oregon State Supreme Court to present the mistakes made by the Court of Appeals of Oregon. Currently there is no response of acceptance of this brief. 

Legal Fees 

The school board members were reassured there was no scenario in which they would be required to pay the defendant’s legal fees. This was a prerequisite for moving forward with the lawsuit.  Upon losing the anti-SLAPP case at the Oregon Court of Appeals, the 4-board members were informed that they would be required to pay the fair and reasonable legal fees of the prevailing party. The estimated cost of these fees now sits in the range of $185,000 to $200,000. 

A grassroots action group, Newberg Dundee Strong has initiated a Give Send Go account for the community to provide financial support for the school board members. Common Sense Schools Legal Fund.