North Callaway County R-1 School District superintendent pleads guilty to DWI

The North Callaway County R-1 School District School Board has pushed up a meeting to Tuesday night after receiving complaints from parents about its superintendent.

Board members spent three and a half hours behind closed doors.

They declined to comment on what was discussed, but told an ABC 17 news crew a formal statement will be announced Thursday.

Superintendent Dr. Bryan Thomsen pleaded guilty this summer to driving while intoxicated for an incident that occurred last May.

The school board says it has known about the matter since the spring of 2012, but will not discuss it with the public.

School district parents say they are furious the board knew about it, but kept it a secret.

“I was mad and upset that they hid this for over a year and no one knew anything about it,” said one parent who asked not to be identified.

Parents also say the board failed to implement any sort of disciplinary action against Thomsen.

Multiple board members refused to comment on the situation, stating they would not discuss personnel matters publicly.

A meeting had been scheduled for Sept. 19, however, board members moved the meeting following complaints from parents. A school official told ABC 17 News the meeting will be closed to both the public and media.

When ABC 17 News contacted Thomsen, he said he was advised not to make an on-camera statement and instead released the following:

“In May of 2012 I made a terrible error in judgement and want to apologize to everyone for my actions. I take full responsibility for my actions and have fulfilled all obligations set forth by the state. I am truly sorry for any negative attention this incident has brought upon my family and the district,” Thomsen said.

After pleading guilty, Thomsen was given two years of unsupervised probation for the misdemeanor DWI charge.