Tumwater school board president sues WA OSPI for firing her after controversial vote
A Tumwater school board member is suing the Washington state Office of Public Instruction for firing her after a controversial school board vote about trans student athletes.
Darby Kaikkonen, who serves as president of the Tumwater School District board of directors, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tacoma on June 3. She previously worked at OSPI as Director of Student Information.
In her lawsuit, Kaikkonen alleges OSPI unlawfully fired her because of her Feb. 27 vote to support amendments to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association policy – amendments that aimed to keep transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams.
When reached by The Olympian, Kaikkonen said she believes elected officials should be given the space to have dialogue and make decisions about important issues without feeling like they could face negative consequences.
“I just feel extremely strong that this was not the right thing to do,” Kaikkonen said of her firing. “I was trying to represent my community and speak on an issue that is very challenging.”
A majority of the school board voted to support the WIAA amendments, prompting protests and lobbying from supporters of trans student athlete’s rights, The Olympian reported. The vote occurred after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans girls from girls sports teams.
The amendments, which do not align with Washington state law, failed to gain enough support to pass as “advisory votes” during an April 21 meeting of the WIAA representative assembly, The News Tribune reported.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal is named as a defendant in Kaikkonen’s lawsuit. He has taken a public stance against the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies and protections for trans athletes.
Katie Hannig, Interim Communications Manager for OSPI, declined to comment on Kaikkonen and her lawsuit.
Kaikkonen explains her lawsuit
Kaikkonen acknowledged the controversy around her vote and defended her actions in a statement to The Olympian.
“This was done as part of my responsibility, obligation and right as an elected leader to represent the voices of my community,” Kaikkonen said.
She said she felt conflicted between a desire to include everyone in sports while also wanting to protect the “spirit of fair and equitable competition for women and girls.” She said she felt passionately about the latter because of her experience as a competitive female athlete.
One week after the vote, she said OSPI placed her on administrative leave, citing “possible policy violation and/or failure to meet performance expectations.”
“This was shocking because in the three years I worked at OSPI, I had never been approached by my supervisors or (Human Resources) indicating any kind of problem with following policy or with my work performance,” Kaikkonen said.
Kaikkonen said she never received a formal written evaluation from her supervisor because she was an exempt employee. She added she got positive feedback from the people she supervised.
“I had a great relationship with my team and so it was particularly devastating to be removed as their leader in such an abrupt manner,” Kaikkonen said. “And with such close proximity to the resolution vote the logical assumption was that it was due to that, suggesting there was something wrong with what I did.”
OSPI fired her at the end of the day on March 19. Kaikkonen said OSPI did not explain the reason for her firing.
Kaikkonen said the job at on the school board had nothing to do with her job at OSPI, nor is how she votes a factor when considering a conflict of interest.
“It is protected free speech, which just so happens to be a viewpoint that the state superintendent adamantly disagrees with,” Kaikkonen said.
OSPI employees must complete a form to request approval for any outside employment, according to its policies.
Documentation reviewed by The Olympian indicates Kaikkonen submitted her request in December 2021 and received approval in early January 2022. She listed one potential concern on her form.
“The ‘employer’ is a school district, so technically could be subject to regulation or licensing depending on the policy, statue or legislation,” she wrote on the form. “However, the role of a school board director is by definition removed from district operational decision-making.”
School board members are independently elected by voters rather than hired by the district.
An ethics officer approved Kaikkonen’s request after finding there was no use of state resources for this work. The officer instructed Kaikkonen to avoid conducting school board work while on the clock for OSPI.
Additionally, Kaikkonen said the firing came at an especially inopportune time. She said her husband is expected to deploy to the Middle East soon on a 9-month tour and OSPI was aware of this.
“This situation didn’t matter either, and the financial harm of losing my job in a state and federal budget deficit environment coupled with dealing with the stress of my husband’s deployment in the coming months is extremely devastating,” Kaikkonen said.
Kaikkonen’s term on the school board ends this year. When reached for comment, Kaikkonen said she chose not to run for re-election due to her husband’s deployment and she made that decision before her firing.
“He is going to a combat zone,” Kaikkonen said. “I’ve been a military spouse for many, many years, so it is incredibly stressful. Not even just for me, but you have that secondary stress in that I have children that I need to worry about.”
What does the lawsuit allege?
Attorneys Edward Younglove and Lisa M. Wood of Younglove Coker and Rhodes P.L.L.C. are representing Kaikkonen in the lawsuit. They filed a complaint, asking for a jury trial and damages.
The complaint includes four causes of action. First, it alleges Reykdal and OSPI retaliated against Kaikkonen’s “protected speech on a matter of public concern in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”
Additionally, the complaint alleges “wrongful termination in violation of public policy.”
“Plaintiff was terminated in retaliation for engaging in protected expression and civic duty as a school board member,” the complaint reads. “Such termination violates the public policy of the State of Washington.”
Furthermore, the complaint alleges the defendants’ intentionally or recklessly intended to cause Kaikkonen distress.
Lastly, the complaint alleges the defendants’ actions were negligent and foreseeably caused Kaikkonen severe emotional distress.
Younglove said the fact that Kaikkonen was an exempt employee meant OSPI could fire her without giving her a reason.
“We lawyers believe people don’t do things for no reason, and a lot of times when the employer won’t say what the reason is, they don’t have a good one or a legal one,” Younglove said.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
