Park City School District releases redacted Tanner investigation, cites dishonesty as possible cause for termination

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City School District has released redacted versions of the external investigations into former Chief Operating Officer Michael Tanner, citing significant public interest as justification under Utah law.

In response to a GRAMA request filed by TownLift and similar requests from other outlets, the district stated that “the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest in restriction,” referencing Utah Code § 63G-2-201(5)(b). After months of being withheld the reports were distributed Thursday to requesting parties including TownLift.

The report was ordered by the Park City School Board, through district counsel “to rebut specious statements and quell adverse inferences prompted by published articles” and to seek out the truth to the issues they raised. To date, no corrections to the articles referred to have been required.

The investigations, conducted by external reviewers Kirk McRae and Michael Liechty, concluded that Tanner provided inaccurate information regarding his military status during a December 2024 inquiry. He claimed to be in the Individual Ready Reserve, though military records showed his obligations ended in 2021.

A supplemental review further addressed statements Tanner made in a July 2024 interview on KPCW with Senior News Director Leslie Thatcher. In that interview, Tanner implied he was still actively serving in the Air Force Reserve. Investigators found his statements misleading and potentially reflective of poor judgment, though not necessarily intentionally deceitful.

The report also suggests that the interview had motives beyond discussing district construction projects. It noted that Thatcher’s questions about Tanner’s call in location and military role closely mirrored reporting from The Park Record published months earlier.

Tanner inaccurately responded to two of Thatcher’s questions:

“Is that [providing airlift logistics support] something you continue to do?” to which he replied, “It is… although I’m approaching retirement.”

“Is that [airlift logistics support] something you do as a military or private consultant?” to which Tanner responded, “My work is done as an Air Force Reservist.”

Tanner told investigators he had expected the interview to focus on construction updates, but after the first question, he realized he “was walking into hostile ground.”

“When asked about the inaccurate answers, Tanner said: ‘I was kind of walking into hostile territory… I wish I would have worded things differently. I didn’t… um, you know? I can’t unring that bell, but it was certainly never with the intent to deceive or, um, to take any advantages.’”

The release of the documents comes amid sustained scrutiny of Tanner’s remote work arrangement from Illinois and $394,000 salary, as previously reported by TownLift.

The report authors wrote that the District commissioned the report “to rebut specious statements and quell adverse inferences prompted by published articles” though the published reports have not required corrections.

In an April 3 statement, the district clarified that Tanner’s March 31 departure was the result of a reduction-in-force as part of an administrative restructuring initiated under the leadership of Superintendent Jill Gildea’s successor, Lyndsay Huntsman. The move aligns with a broader trend of declining enrollment and the planned closure of Treasure Mountain Junior High at the end of the 2024–25 school year.

The district also recently announced a $2.6 million budget shortfall, which it plans to offset by tapping into reserves.

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