A few weeks ago, at the August Big Lake School Board meeting, Board Member Derek Nelson was censured for several accusations against him, including inappropriate behavior, mismanagement of funds, and failure to provide adequate food and transportation to the cheerleading team he coached. The Patriot received a few requests to speak with Nelson and some of the parents of the cheerleaders in order to hear the other perspective on these issues. This reporter sat with Nelson as well as two cheer parents to get the other side of the story. The two cheer parents interviewed wished to remain anonymous, as they feared backlash against them or their students from others if they spoke out.

History of Events

Nelson, prior to being elected as a school board member, had been a coach for the Big Lake Cheerleading team. He also owned several businesses, including Guardian Garments. According to Nelson, and corroborated by one of the cheer parents, a former booster club president started collecting complaints against Nelson. The booster club had been having issues with this president, as there were issues in accounting for funds raised by the booster club. It is not clear why the president of the time chose to collect complaints against Nelson. Nelson reported that he believed it was due to a desire to exercise more control over the booster club and the team. Meanwhile one of the booster parents indicated it was due to conflict between Nelson and the president. Regardless, the president openly asked students and parents to submit any complaints they had against Nelson. 

Complaints were compiled and submitted to the school, whereupon an investigation was opened by the school. Those hired to investigate were trained in finance, according to reports this reporter has heard. Nelson has publicly questioned their authority as investigators for the accusations against him.

Both of the cheer parents noted that, although they were willing to give comments as a part of any investigation, neither was asked for their opinion, nor were their students. They reported that they did not know of any parents in support of Nelson who have been interviewed as a part of this investigation.

Response to the Accusations

Nelson did not respond to the accusations against him at the board meeting, but did so in a closed board meeting and with this reporter. 

The inappropriate behavior of which Nelson was accused stemmed from his potential conflicts of interest from being a school board member as well as a business owner that worked with the schools. Nelson did employ students from the district in his small businesses, but had also done so prior to being a school board member and did not see issues in continuing the practice. He also noted that, although he has done business with the school in the past, for sports teams, he has not done so since becoming a board member. He has only done business with youth groups and booster clubs that were peripheral to the school, not governed by the school district directly. 

As for the mismanagement of funds, those hired to investigate the issue did not find that any funds were stolen. Nelson did admit that best bookkeeping practices were not followed, but he was trying actively to remedy that. Nelson noted asking the former athletic director for guidance on implementing best practices but they were not able to resolve the situation. Last year, a new athletic director was hired for the district, and Nelson waited a bit longer to address the situation, allowing for a transition period. He did note that he was eventually able to sit down with the athletic director and the district director of business services to implement best practices in accounting for the team’s treasury. Again, all money was accounted for by those who were hired by the school district.

Nelson was also accused of not providing adequate transportation and food for the cheerleaders when they attended the national competition in Florida. Nelson said that it was true that the original transportation plan fell through and they had to go with a plan B. The original plan was to have Disney provide transportation (as the competition was sponsored by the company), but after some back and forth they found that this would not be an option as they’d hoped. As a plan B, the team rented out a van and had to make several trips to ferry the student athletes where they needed to go. Students were supervised by adults at all times, and although the solution was less than ideal, it cost the team about a quarter as it would have cost to rent a bus, and all the students made it to where they needed to be on time for the whole trip, as opposed to other teams in the competition who, relying on the transportation provided, ended up being delayed many times throughout the trip. Nelson noted that last minute hiccups tend to happen when traveling with a team, but they were able to manage it. As for the accusation of Nelson not providing adequate food for the students, he noted that this is not true at all. Food was kept in the coaches’ room, and the students were encouraged to take whatever food they needed and bring it back to their rooms. They were encouraged to ask the coaches if they needed more. Nelson noted that there was more than enough food available, as much of it was left behind at the resort when the team departed. 

Nelson said he wasn’t sure why these allegations have come to effect his school board position in the first place, stating, “At the end of the day, like it has been said many times, no kids were hurt, no money was stolen, everything was accounted for. Were there best practices? No, but… there’s been no illegal activity that occurred. I’ve been baffled by the whole thing.”

Parents’ Response

Two parents reached out to the Patriot wanting to give their perspective. Both said they were not contacted to give a statement about the situation, despite being willing to do so. 

“I never felt there were any issues,” said the first parent (hereto referred as Parent One), who noted that their student was very open about any issues with the team or at school. 

Parent One went on to note that some of the school board members called Nelson un-empathetic to the situation, but they begged to differ, saying that he was empathetic and that he treated the students, “like his own kids.”

Parent One noted that Nelson could come off as somewhat disorganized, which might have led to miscommunications, but they felt he had not done anything wrong. 

The other parent (hereto referred to as Parent Two) also noted that they were not asked to give a statement to Nelson’s defense, although they (along with some other parents) went directly to the athletic director to offer to do so. The athletic director, at that time, was under the impression that the investigation would be wrapped up soon and that everything would be ok. But very soon after that, the competition cheer was dissolved by the school, which now only offers sideline cheer. Parent Two said they felt as if they had been lied to. 

The students being coached by Nelson were also not given the opportunity to voice their opinions.

Minnesota Jets

After the school dissolved competition cheer, Nelson, with some help from other parents including Parent Two, created the Minnesota Jets. This is a youth organization not affiliated with the school district that allows the students to continue with competition cheer. Nelson currently is helping with the administration of the group and is serving as a coach, but he is not on the board. Despite this, concerns were raised at the previous board meeting about whether the school could do anything to dissolve that program. 

Continuing Repercussions

While Nelson was being investigated, he lost business clients due to his being under investigation, and had to close the doors for some of his small businesses.