Concerns About Supervisor Kevin Crye, Shared by Two Top Shasta County Officials, Come to Light During Board Meeting
Shasta County’s Assessor-Recorder Leslie Morgan and Superintendent of Schools Mike Freeman have independently expressed concerns about the ethics of Supervisor Kevin Crye’s recent actions. Supervisor Tim Garman briefly mentioned both incidents to the County during his Board report.
Shasta County’s elected Assessor-Recorder Leslie Morgan described Supervisor Kevin Crye’s behavior during his recent visit to her Department on personal business as concerning. She reported that incident in an email sent to Supervisor Tim Garman, who shared it with the press yesterday, October 15.
Morgan said Crye asked one of her staff members about how long they’ve worked for the County, questioning whether they own their own home, before he mentioned that his daughter can’t afford one–suggesting he might need to look into some areas to make changes with the Assessor’s internal processes.
“It’s inappropriate for someone to try to influence staff with their position of authority,” Morgan wrote in her email, referencing those statements and others.
During a follow-up conversation with Shasta Scout, Morgan said Crye’s comments to staff during his visit crossed the line into what she believes was an attempt to leverage his influence for personal benefit. She emphasized that she won’t allow her staff to be retaliated against for reporting this kind of behavior.
“The problem is, if you come into the office you come in and get treated like every other taxpayer,” Morgan told Shasta Scout today. “There would be no private individual that I would let question my staff members on personal issues.”
“He stepped out of line,” she continued. “He’s in here on some sort of fishing expedition… and my staff doesn’t need to be put into the middle of this. If he comes in here (again) he’s going to be talking to me or a deputy.”
In response to Morgan’s email, Crye told Shasta Scout he “greatly apologized” to Morgan if he “made any of her staff feel uncomfortable.” Crye said his comments in the Assessor’s Office weren’t “wrong at face value” but he “could use a lot better discretion” when talking to county employees.
“I guess I have to be less myself,” Crye concluded, which he said he finds confusing, expressing that other personnel have encouraged him to continue to “be himself.” He suggested specific department heads that Shasta Scout should interview regarding their perspectives on his behavior.
Instead, Shasta Scout spoke with Superintendent of Schools Mike Freeman, whose separate but similar concerns about Crye’s behavior were also made public by Supervisor Garman yesterday.
In a September 16 email that Garman shared with Shasta Scout, Freeman told Crye that the timing of a recent discussion related to Crye’s education-related business venture, felt like a potential conflict of interest.
Freeman met with Crye on August 28, one day after Crye and others on the Board voted to delay a decision on whether to approve a routine, retroactive contract renewal with the Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) to continue to use $1.5 million in state funds for the reduction and prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as part of a program known as Community Connect.
At that time, the renewal for the two-year contract was already late by almost two months, delaying payment to SCOE for services.
After Crye pulled the topic from the consent calendar on August 27, he told the Board, “quite frankly I’d like a lot more information” saying “this is such a bigger conversation for me (and) I will be having it with the new Superintendent of Schools, Mike Freeman.”
“I know with many department heads we’ve had the conversation about private industry vs. government,” Crye said at the meeting, amidst many other comments about how he doesn’t believe current programs are working. Crye then made a motion to bring the topic back, pending his further discussions with Freeman, which the Board voted to do.
Freeman told Shasta Scout in a phone call yesterday that when Crye came to his office the next day, August 28, for a previously scheduled meeting he assumed they would discuss Crye’s criticisms from the Board meeting the previous day.
But, as previously scheduled, the two also discussed a before-school program that Crye runs as part of his private business, which he had hoped SCOE would consider implementing with students.
In his September 16 email to Crye, Freeman wrote that in retrospect, the optics of combining Crye’s personal business with a County issue wasn’t advisable.
“While our appointment was scheduled some time before the Board of Supervisors meeting,” Freeman wrote to Crye, “the timing of a conversation about a personal business venture coming off the heels of a County BOS action item involving a significant contract with Shasta COE feels like a potential conflict of interest.”
Crye’s email in response said he had not intended to “co-mingle” County and personal business, and wanted instead to “discuss an impactful, data driven program we run that I know is changing student’s lives everyday.”
Speaking to Shasta Scout yesterday, Crye said that he intended for his meeting with Freeman to cover “one of the programs we’re doing literally all over the country,” and that Freeman “brought in his staff to discuss a County item.”
“And I said, ‘Well, this isn’t what I’m here for,’ and (Freeman) goes, ‘I know, but I just feel like it’s the elephant in the room and I’ve got to address it.”
Freeman acknowledged that he had brought up County business saying it seemed like the priority given how outspoken Crye had been about his public discontent with SCOE funding just one day before.
Moving forward, Freeman said, he doesn’t intend to discuss any of Crye’s personal business programs as long as they’re both holding public seats, saying that SCOE “is funded by taxpayers–and I think we owe it to the public to be accountable and transparent.”
“I don’t know (Crye’s) intent,” Freeman said. “I just know that as an appointed County Superintendent in an elected position, I owe it to everybody that trusts the Shasta County Office of Education to be above board and to do the work that we do with integrity.”
Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
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Can someone enlighten me about the bathtub photo? I’m over here w my popcorn watching the train wreck. Nothing in tbe history of politics has ever made me think politics are more of a joke than Kevin getting this position. A 6th grader is smarter than Kevin. How did this happen Redding?
I’ve lived in Shasta County over 35 years and personally know Kevin. He is a complete idiot and it’s hilarious to me that he was put in that position. He is like Eddie Haskel! He ripped off me and a bunch of my friends with a women’s exercise group. Sold us some lame CD, made a lot of promises and didn’t follow through. Took the money and ran. I can’t vote for Kevin. He’s just ridiculous. I believe all the gossip about him because he showed me the person he is. Rings true that he’s making shady business deals and attempting to intimidate employees. That’s Kevin. I vote conservatively but I’m done w Kevin and done with Bethels. Bring Redding back from this alien take over. Who are these people voting all this nonsense in?
“which he (Crye) said he finds confusing, expressing that other personnel have encouraged him to continue to “be himself.” “
There is no way any county personnel have encouraged Crye to be himself. That’s when he’s at his worst. Most county employees hate Kevin Crye. He must be talking about Mu or Larmour.
Happy citizens,
What we have here is Garman
thrown out his last Hail Mary’s against Crye before he leaves office in January.
Sounds like Garmin, Morgan, and Freeman are Democrats..
Sounds like Garmin, Morgan and Freeman suffer from CDS. Crye Derangement Syndrome. They hate Crye.
Sounds like we got elections less than three weeks away.
It’s all hate politics accusations and no crimes.
We just got a go vote and be happy.
Hello hippy citizen,
Facts:
1. Crye withheld funding from SCOE.
2. Crye is recorded saying that a ‘new game’ other than SCOE needs to be found (a place where the money can be diverted).
3. Crye presents his OWN business as an option for SCOE to use.
These are all facts that any person can happily verify if they are open to the truth. 🙂
Unlike some of your own ‘not-so-happy’ hyperbole.
Hi Jolly,
It’s Happy not Hippy. About all those facts you threw down.
So what! There’s No crime, No conflict of interest, No nothing except CDS.
Crye Derangement Syndrome.
No conflict of interest??
LOL
Whatever is making you so ‘happy’, is not helping your common sense.
Please explain why there is no conflict of interest when a supervisor votes to withhold funding from an entity, then goes to that same entity to try and get ‘funding’ passed through from them to his own private business. If you can.
Jolly,
If it’s conflict of interest. then someone has to take it to the court of the law rather than the town gossip.
Happy Citizen: They took it to a journalist. 🙂 We’re working on a follow up story.
hippy, glad you noticed. 🙂
Crye, is in fact, deranged.
Is a syndrome? Well, I can’t rightly say. But you might be right that it is a syndrome that causes his derangement.
Ya know, I think we’re destined to become good friends. You remind me so much of my other dear friend Nick. Lots of commentary and no real facts, but you gotta hand it to the guy!! He tries SO hard
Oh happy days!
Oh…
But I still gotta point out that it is a conflict of interest. I know you want me to say that because you’re such a big proponent of freedom of speech and all.
Hi Happy, Sorry, it doth not matter what political party any of those mentioned belong to…it’s not hate politics it’s realty politics, Crye is an embarrassment to the county. But it does matter that you get your spelling & grammar correct, need some tutoring ?
Sorry Frank,
After I do voice messaging. I’ll proof read just for you.
But you still got the message anyways.
Let’s diverge a bit just for fun and ask whether there’s any empirical data whatsoever indicating that Crye’s “programs” are effective? Because one hears that the programs are pointless and not educational, and also that they exclude younger students and physically challenged students, which if true, should disqualify them as discriminatory. Disclaimer: I don’t know if that’s true but maybe it should be looked into. If they address “learning losses” (ie Covid) then they obviously should’ve ended two years ago. Crye’s getting rich on the teat of Covid Welfare and that needs to stop yesterday. Crye’s Covid Con has stuffed his pockets big time-if his daughter needs help buying a house maybe he could just help her instead of trying to work another shady deal.
Nice!
And why are we concerned about Supervisor Crye? It is obvious that he is the person we wanted to hold the levers of county government. He was fairly elected, (in a rigged election that caused the Dominion voting machine contract to be cancelled at some expense to the county), and survived a recall effort after showing himself to be who he is as part of the trio of elected supervisors who are establishing a crony county administration. Apparently Crye is our guy. Enough people support him, his behavior, the impact of his behavior on county staff and the appearance of impropriety that he has not only retained his position but claimed chairmanship of the Board. Unless the people in his district want to attempt another recall or the people in Mary Rickert’s district do not re-elect her we can expect a continuation of the concerns. And it will be a reflection of what the majority of voters want. Government by, of and for the few.
I can only imagine the list of Crye/Jones edicts they’ve compiled over the last 4 years that Mary, Allen and Matt will be undoing for the benefit of all in Shasta County. Where’s Crye’s handler, Chriss Street, during these whole red-faced boondoggles ? I thought Street had everything figured out when he feeds all this data to Crye & Jones. But, what I really want to know is who’s picture is that in the bath tub that Dolores L. was talking about during the last Board meeting, during her 2 minutes. Red faces abound soon.
PS Vote NO on Shasta Co. Ballot Measures P & Q…another pull-the-wool-over-eyes from Crye & Street.
I too am curious about the follow up of Dolores’s comments regarding the bath tub/Kelstrom photo, and Kevins relationship with a county employee. What a mess. Can’t wait until January.
I find it hard to take anything Dolores says/claims at face value. That axe had been ground down to the handle.
Hey – I know that contract is way overdue. I know it’s a lot of money. I know you are still providing the services but not getting paid for them. I know I pulled the contract off the agenda, delaying it even longer. I know you all have bills to pay. But NO- let’s talk about programs you aren’t providing that I want to see you provide- something along the lines like, I don’t know- the ones my companies run & I profit from, Yeah that’s the ticket. I can get the contract back on the agenda as soon as I am “comfortable” with it. It really isn’t about me. It isn’t about appeasing my values supporters either. It’s just me looking out for Shasta people because no one else is capable. Yeah, I know, this is the exact opposite approach I used for the 30 YEAR contract with the Rancheria when I said the County has bills to pay & a contract is better than no contract- so let’s just pass this one thru and bypass the departments most impacted by it.
Well that about sums up my feelings on it. Always accountability in my opinion. Keep it up i say.
Hey you are owed a lot of money on work you’ve already done. The contract is 1.5 million & we still haven’t finalized it yet. Who knows if & when I put it back on the agenda so it mighget approved….. meanwhile, let’s talk about the local schools and SCOE using other available programs with some of this money- Maybe, for example, something along the lines of the companies I run and profit from, yeah let’s spend your time and your staff’s time talking about that- I know you got bills to pay and this contract is way past overdue & your still providing the services without getting the funding for it, but that’s not what’s important. The exact opposite approach of his sweathart 30 year deal with the Rancheria where he just said it’s overdue and a contract is better than no contract at all. The many faces being showed all have one common component- what suits me and mine the best. I’ll spin it enough so the hard right will cheer me as standing up for them and theirs.
If you watch the recorded board of supervisors meeting on September 24th 2024 when Kevin Crye was speaking (sometime after 36:45), he started talking about the ACE scores and how they were a bad thing.
First of all, Crye is not qualified to be speaking about the ACE scores. For someone who claims they are such an advocate and protector of our kids, it’s really weird to take such a hardcore stance against ACE scores.
But Crye actually revealed his hand by saying: ‘…if the metrics (ACE scores) aren’t producing a great result then we got to find a new game. We got to find somebody else…’
He was of course speaking of diverting money from SCOE to a ‘new game’.
Isn’t it obvious now?
Crye has already taken government (COVID) money, and is looking for more. Crye has already found a ‘new game’ for this money. It’s his own business!!
It’s a blatant conflict of interest for Crye to withhold funding from SCOE for the Community Connect program, and then come forward to promote his own business as an option for SCOE to use.
You nailed it!
Be sure to vote for Corkey if you’re looking for more extreme far-right transactional cronyism and blatant attacks on all county divisions and employees that don’t, and won’t, kiss the — of Crye.
Crye, who didn’t know what the board of supervisors was before he ran for supervisor, is campaigning for Corkey. Why? Because Crye will need a puppet, like Crye is Jones’ puppet, to keep the far right extreme partisan graft flowing into his pockets and because Crye sure as hell doesn’t want people like Auditor-Controller Nolda Short complaining about Crye getting a cool million for his buddy/campaign manager for “Tuorism,” HHSA Chief Fiscal Officer Dean’s whistleblowing, Shasta County’s elected Assessor-Recorder Morgan, Superintendent of Schools Mike Freeman, Supervisor Mary Rickert or Supervisor Garman telling Crye they won’t kiss his — or submit to his Project 2025 want-to-be authoritarian power. But that’s not all, folks.
Crye snivels he is concerned about kids while denying them critical school services (First 5) based on empirical evidence as one of the most essential services a kid can get. What far-right Crye is concerned about is his fan club that thinks Shasta County is indoctrinating schools kids, like Lesley Sawyer Mommies For Liberty, a far-right hate group, a love child of criminal rapist Trump and criminal white-nationalist Steve Bannon, that infiltrates the education system to attack kids of color and LGBQT students while dumbing all kids down by banning books or critical thinking in schools. Crye knows as much about education as Corkey knows about fentanyl down on the lower 40 or Crye’s good buddy fellow conspiracy theory personate Jhon Kight knows about epidemic disease, “Bill Gates is a part of this … These mosquitoes are going to be flying syringes.”
Crye, Jones, and Kelstorm have used MANY MILLIONS of hard-earned taxpayer money to pimp their far-right, extremist partisan agenda built on lies, retribution, cronyism, chaos, racism, sexism, belligerence, and Mr. Pillow’s conspiracy theory, and they really need Corkey (like Corkey needs contracts) for their three-ring-clown-car circus show to continue. Or, there is another idea… A better way.
Say no to Corkey.
Say yes to safe-sane conservatism that establishes Shasta County governance that works to serve all people of the county, not just Crye and his far-right extremist sycophant fan club.
Kevin Crye should not even be working with kid’s ever, especially females. Given his previous history in the early to mid 2000’s with his improprieties of “training” and coaching programs. These new concerns wanting personal “favors” is just sickening.
Kara: I want to point out to readers that these allegations not things Crye has ever been charged with, or found guilty of.
Instead of being less of himself why doesn’t he just try being more professional?
This whole article was very confusing. I feel like I am missing something here.
What is the elephant in the room?
What is the connection between this contract to be renewed and Crye’s program?
Would like a bigger picture here. I do not trust Crye’s ethics and would not be surprised at all if he tried to leverage his position with the BOS and a contract with SCOE and the state to get state money flowing into his business.
I am confused.
Alysia: Thanks for sharing this. I appreciate understanding that my writing didn’t provide the necessary clarity. Freeman is saying the elephant in the room was the pending SCOE contract that Crye had pulled from the consent agenda and motioned not to approve until he got more information from Freeman. There’s no specific connection between that pending contract and Crye’s program, ASCEND, which he was pitching to SCOE. What concerned Freeman was the close timing between the two discussions. Please feel free to ask additional questions and again I appreciate your feedback.
I understand Freeman’s misgivings here.
I genuinely don’t get the deal with the assessor’s person. Making conversation isn’t an ethical violation. Was he trying to get something?
Shasta Rocks: You’ll find Leslie’s email linked in the beginning of the story. As I understand it, her concern was related to his comment about looking into areas to make changes when it comes to the Assessor’s Office processes and another statement about changing exemption value for a property at the local level, something she says can’t occur.
Thanks for sharing the original email (and reminding readers about it).
County supervisor wandering and talking to staff in office makes other local elected mad for getting on their turf. Is it … wrong?
Sure the state would have to change the homestead exemption. Not so terrible to ask about it.
Either way, appreciate the coverage!
If your boss had to he chairman of the board come into your workspace and ask a front desk person. Hey do you own a home? My daughter doesn’t & she might not be able to either and the way things are going – but hey, I would like to see some changes around here…
That comes accross as threatening- along the lines of homeownership is expensive, you probably can’t afford the one you have if you didn’t work here, I would like to recommend some changes….
You got that right!
“I guess I have to be less myself,” Crye concluded, which he said he finds confusing, expressing that other personnel have encouraged him to continue to “be himself.”
Ethical lines aren’t realigned depending how “one’s self” is defined.
So, regardless of how KC wants to define himself, let’s have a whole lot less of this questionable behavior.
I wish Kevin was less himself at the last board meeting. I had to stop watching when he was attacking Mary. What a complete Jerk!
I still don’t know why the State Attorney General has not investigated all of his shady ties to public money.
These are absolutely unacceptable and blatant acts of attempting to benefit from your position and thuggery. Who is this “we” of which he speaks running school programs around the country?
Veronica: I have updated the article to include links to California Adventure Camps which is run by Supervisor Crye and includes the ASCEND program, a before-school program he hoped SCOE might utilize with students. Crye told me he intended to offer the program free to SCOE.
Oh, sure. Free.
Glenn: I have added a link within the story where I reference Crye’s email to Freeman. In that email he mentions the ASCEND program, which Crye’s California Adventure Camps organization offers as a before-school program to school districts, usually in exchange for money. To clarify because I find it confusing, Crye told me that California Adventure Camp is a DBA for his business Ninja Coalition, Inc. – which essentially means CAC is another name for Ninja Coalition Inc. In his private business, Crye works with school districts using state funds, largely Extended Learning Program funds, to implement programs for youth intended to address learning losses and other student needs.
And sadly, that’s not the entire story and you know it. Please revise this article to include the main body of the discussion.
Jon: Unsure what you’re referencing . . .
Please enlighten everyone to your inside knowledge of what fully transpired. To do otherwise is to merely cast doubt on the facts of the story with baseless statement.
Jon please share: what is the entire truth?
Come on, don’t be shy now. Please let us know what the entire truth is.
This article seems really disjointed. I feel like I need some more information in order to better understand the letter and why it was written. Otherwise it seems like Mr Crye had a conversation with an employee who then went to a department head who then went to a county supervisor. I don’t get why the department head did not go to Kevin Crye with a concern. Why would this department head go to another county Supervisor? Why would that supervisor go to a reporter? Further before going to the press why wouldn’t that reporter go both to Kevin Crye and to the department head and maybe even to an employee who met with Kevin?
Not the “entire story?” Here’s the rest of the story.
Remember, Crye got “all I need to know” about politics from Mike Lindell, “Donald Trump won in a landslide. Donald Trump won eight more states than we said he won'” a sojourn – pilgrimage, paid-for by Shasta County Taxpayers, to his mentor/disciple a few weeks after Crye took office (by 90 votes…). You know, the same Mr. Pillow who owes a $5 million arbitration award for lying about the elections for a convicted criminal, $450,000 in back rent payment to one landlord, $800,000 for pillow delivery debts and who is being sued $1.3 billion in a lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems and who told his social-political progeny Crye “As I promised, if you have any pushback, including lawsuits against you or your county (Shasta County), I will provide all of the resources necessary, including financial and legal for this fight.”
For the last three years, Crye, Jones, and Kelstorm have spread the disease of lies, deceit, and division. Now, they have invested their hand puppet, Corky, to help.
It’s time for Shasta County to write a new story, recover, and regain its safety and sanity.
Come on Jon, cat got your tongue? What is this ‘truth’ that people are missing out on?
Hi Jon,
I’m still waiting to hear what the entire story is.