Law firm sets up secure email to receive info in Geneva D-304 probe

GENEVA – The Drendel & Jansons Law Group set up a dedicated email address, investigation@batavialaw.com, that employees and former employees of Geneva District 304 can use to contact the law firm regarding its investigation of complaints against Scott Ney, Kevin Drendel stated in an email.

The Geneva District 304 school board hired the law firm to investigate the complaints against the district’s facilities operation director and provide a report.

People have contacted the law firm anonymously, and otherwise, to provide information, Drendel’s email stated

“We can’t possibly interview every employee of the school district, or even every employee or former employee who worked with Scott Ney, but we want to make sure we have a reliable sampling of input, and we want to make sure that everyone who desires to provide information has an opportunity to provide it,” Drendel’s email stated.

“We may, or may not, be able to follow up with everyone who wishes to speak to us, depending on the response we get, but we will consider the information people want to provide us,” Drendel’s email stated.

Since Ney became director of operations for the district on Aug. 14, 2012, more than 90 employees who worked under him resigned or retired, several telling the Chronicle that they and others left because of the harassing way he treated them.

The legal services agreement is with Drendel and Jansons Law Group and would take 100 to 125 hours and cost $190 an hour, a total cost of $19,000 to $23,750, according to the agreement.