One year ago, Jefferson County Schools descended into turmoil after former Chief of Schools David Weiss was found dead by suicide amid a child pornography investigation conducted by the Jeffco Sheriff’s office.

Weiss was fired two weeks earlier after a financial brokerage tipped off authorities that he’d used bitcoin to purchase the illegal material — a fact the investigators confirmed. The district’s failure to communicate responsibly and proactively to the public only amplified parents’ fears.

As I noted at the time, Weiss wasn’t a passive administrator. He sought oversight roles, took charge of student outcomes in struggling schools, and served as liaison to the District Accountability Committee, guiding parents and community members.

Weiss was also the point-person for implementing the district’s so-called “trusted adult” culture embedded into policy, curriculum and activities — seeking to institutionalize “trust” rather than letting it develop naturally. Ultimately, he became an indictment of the entire project, which critics warn opens the door to abuse.

Most critically, he oversaw educator evaluations and disciplinary matters. For example, the Jefferson County Education Association’s contract established that, as chief of schools, Weiss may “review all documents” and “issue a written decision to uphold or elevate the evaluator rating” — one that was “final.”

At least 33 sexual abuse cases involving employees and students have been uncovered from his tenure.

After the district fired Weiss in December 2024, they informed the public only that he was under investigation for a “personal legal issue” — not a child pornography investigation. Emails show that two days before his firing, Weiss ran the district’s adult sexual misconduct training. His password wasn’t changed until days later.

Weiss often played a key role in sensitive district matters. In one case, a district investigation found a 17-year-old Columbine High School student had been groomed into an “inappropriate relationship” with female teacher Leann Kearney. District staff then helped the student falsely declare herself homeless under the federal McKinney Vento Act, allowing her to move in with the teacher.

Red flags abounded. Principal Scott Christy knew what was happening but didn’t warn her parents. They discovered it themselves. When the mother confronted Christy with 20,000 texts and phone records showing 20 hours of calls, he dismissed her concerns: “Ms. Kearney takes interest in helping kids navigate their sexuality.”

How comforting.

In a public apology last February, the district acknowledged “the student did not meet the criteria to be considered homeless,” and “the proper channels in place were not followed.”

By then, it was too late. The student, now 18, was already out of state with Kearney, who’s since lost her teaching license.

Here’s the thing: David Weiss was read into this case. His calendar for August 2022 indicated he attended a meeting on the “Columbine High School Investigation.” He was copied on emails after the texts and calls surfaced. Records obtained by Jeffco Kids First revealed staff planned for Kearney to return the following year.

So, what was Weiss’ role here? The district’s apology mentioned only counselors and the principal, not Weiss. He was copied on emails and attended meetings. He didn’t act. Why not?

By the time the Columbine story went public, Weiss was dead. Nearly a year later, Jeffco still hasn’t investigated what he knew or when he knew it. Could his own predilections have influenced his decisions in this case — or others, for that matter? Reasonable questions deserve real answers.

The consequences of Jeffco’s failures keep surfacing. Last year, Adams 12 Schools non-renewed a teacher who had recently left Jeffco under a separation agreement amid allegations of inappropriate conduct toward female students. Jeffco neither investigated nor warned Adams 12, allowing the teacher access to students for months — until parent group Jeffco Kids First alerted district leadership.

Let’s be clear: Jeffco must stop allowing problematic employees to quietly quit in lieu of termination — and report concerns to the Colorado Department of Education in timely fashion, so they don’t land in other unwitting districts.

In the wake of these scandals, Jeffco has mandated more robust sexual misconduct training for all district staff — a welcome development. But you can’t prevent future abuse without first understanding where accountability and action broke down in the past.

“Mandatory adult sexual abuse trainings for all Jeffco employees are a positive step forward, but much work remains to establish adequate protections for Jeffco Students,” Jeffco Kids First founder Lindsay Datko told me. “We have serious questions regarding David Weiss’ authority and oversight in past investigations of egregious sexual abuse cases (including Columbine). We have urged district leaders to reexamine those investigations.”

To that end, Datko’s group has proactively worked to help right the ship in Jeffco — even bringing about national-level accountability. They’ve engaged the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education over Jeffco’s failures, regularly sharing information as part of an ongoing collaboration to examine what DOJ called “excruciatingly difficult and deeply troublesome” concerns.

“Jeffco Kids First is actively following up on sexual abuse reports and will continue to ensure Jeffco Schools keeps their eye on the ball,” Datko added.

Parents are right to keep demanding answers. Jeffco is overdue for an independent, top-to-bottom review of every case Weiss touched.

That’s the least the district owes Jeffco families. One year of silence and unanswered questions is long enough.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.