Please Fix Maeser Prep

‹ Back

The Problem - The Maeser Board and Executive Director orchestrated an elaborate cover-up of Gerber's misconduct and of the fact that Gerber was fired for misconduct

 

Note – All numbered records on this page can be found on the Sources page.

 

When the Maeser Board secretly fired teacher Natalie Gerber for misconduct in April 2025, the Maeser Board's own records reveal that the Maeser Board and Executive Director orchestrated an elaborate cover-up of Gerber's misconduct and of the fact that Gerber was fired for misconduct. This cover-up included at least the following ten (10) actions:

 

1. The Maeser Board instructed Gerber that: “You are expected to maintain the confidentiality of this matter” in her “Pending Investigation” letter (see #5, 1st page).

2. The Maeser Board discussed Gerber's misconduct in an illegal closed meeting where the public was not invited so that the Maeser community would not know the extent of Gerber's misconduct (see #2, at 0:00-26:32; see also #25).

3. The Maeser Board illegally voted to fire Gerber in an illegal closed meeting so that the Maeser community would not know that Gerber was fired for misconduct (see #2, at 0:00-26:32; see also #25).

4. The Maeser Board sent two glowing letters about Gerber to Maeser Prep employees and to Maeser Prep parents that intentionally gave the false impression that Gerber left Maeser Prep on her own in good standing (see #23 and #24). This was an intentional attempt to deceive all letter recipients to hide the fact that Gerber was actually fired for her misconduct, as expressly discussed in the illegal closed meeting (see #2, at 0:00-26:32).

5. The Maeser Board instructed Gerber: “please do not at any time talk about, write about or otherwise publicize the terms or substance of this termination” in her “Notice of Termination” letter (see #21).
6. The Maeser Board paid Gerber three (3) full months of salary and benefits (worth tens of thousands of dollars), as hush money, in exchange for, among other things, not telling the truth about her termination for misconduct. Instead, the Maeser Board simply instructed Gerber to tell family and friends: “that her employment with Maeser has been resolved and she is not able to provide any further information.” Further, the Maeser Board instructed Gerber that when she “is asked about the separation by prospective employers, she may state that the discontinuation of her employment is subject to a mutual non-disparagement and confidentiality agreement and that she cannot provide further information.” The Maeser Board further required Gerber to agree to pay back the three (3) full months of salary and benefits if she ever, among other things, tells the truth about her termination for misconduct. (See #22, clauses 2, 6, and 7).
7. The Maeser Board promised Gerber that the Maeser Administration will not tell the truth about her termination for misconduct, but instead promised to respond “to any inquiries regarding Gerber's employment by prospective employers … with a neutral response giving only Gerber's position and dates of employment” (see #22, clause 7).
8. Even though Gerber was terminated because the investigation specifically determined that Gerber “violated … the Utah Educator Standards found in R277-217” (see #21, 1st paragraph), and even though the Utah Educator Standards found in R277-217-5(1) specifically require that: “An LEA shall notify UPPAC if an educator is determined pursuant to a judicial or administrative proceeding, or internal LEA investigation, to have violated the educator standards described in Sections R277-217-2 and R277-217-3,” the Maeser Board failed to report to UPPAC that its internal investigation determined that Gerber had violated the educator standards described in Sections R277-217.

9. Months after the Maeser Board fired Gerber for misconduct, the Maeser Board collaborated with Gerber to selfishly fight the release of the investigation report (see #3) before the Government Records Office. This collaboration included the Maeser Board filing a brief with an attached declaration from Gerber, where Gerber explained why the investigation report detailing her misconduct should be kept secret (see #26). (Note, the Maeser Board and Gerber lost this fight, and the Government Records Office ordered the Maeser Board to release the investigation report - see #29).

10. As of March 19, 2026, the Maeser Board's had already spent over one-hundred thousand dollars ($100,000+) of the school's budget (see #28 and #31.5) in its unsuccesful fight to illegally keep various public records secret in order to hide Gerber's misconduct and their own misconduct, and only released these public records after being forced to release them by the Fourth District Court (see #25 and #31) or by the Government Records Office (see #29).

 

Which begs the question, why did the Maeser Board and Executive Director orchestrate this elaborate cover-up of Gerber's misconduct and of the fact that Gerber was fired for misconduct, even though Gerber's misconduct was harming students?

 

Clearly the answer is that the Maeser Board and Executive Director care more about covering-up Gerber's misconduct than they do about the past harm to Gerber's past students and potential future harm to Gerber's future students.

 

Because of the Maeser Board and Executive Director's intentional deception, most of the Maeser Community of teachers, parents, and students have no idea about the extent of Gerber's misconduct or that Gerber was fired from Maeser Prep for misconduct. The Maeser Community should have been informed about Gerber's misconduct so that each member of this community could mitigate past harms and potential future harms.

 

Further, because Gerber's misconduct was never reported by the Maeser Board or Executive Director to UPPAC, Gerber's teaching license was left intact, and Gerber immediately went out and got a new job teaching minor students at another secondary school, the Shattuck-St. Mary School, which serves students in grades 6-12. (See the Employee Directory at the Shattuck-St. Mary School). This cover-up thus enabled Gerber to continue teaching vulnerable minor students in grades 6-12. The Maeser Board and Executive Director should have informed the Shattuck-St. Mary School about Gerber's misconduct, and the fact that Gerber was fired from Maeser Prep for misconduct. 

 

How to Fix This Problem 

 

1. The members of the Maeser Board and the Executive Director who orchestrated the elaborate cover-up of Gerber's misconduct and of the fact that Gerber was fired for misconduct need to be removed from their positions at Maeser Prep. These individuals are:

 

• Cynthia Shumway (Board CAO)

• Steve Whitehouse (Board CFO)

• Sandra Russell (Board member)

• Joanna Larsen (Board member)

• Jason Dodge (Board member) - done (resigned August 2025)

• Paul Bingham (Board member) - done (resigned September 2025)

• Samantha Stonely (Board secretary)

• Robyn Ellis (Executive Director)

• Ted Gilbert (Director) - done (resigned May 2025)

 

2. The removed individuals need to be replaced with individuals who will not cover-up a teacher committing misconduct or the fact that a teacher was fired for misconduct.

 

3. The new Maeser Board and Executive Director need to publicly apologize for this cover-up of a teacher committing misconduct and of the fact that a teacher was fired for misconduct, and publicly commit to never allow a similar cover-up to occur in the future.