SAN ANTONIO – An administrator with Education Service Center Region 20 kept her job last year despite an internal investigation that found she sent graphic sexual text messages to a male subordinate.
Last May, the position of Adult Education and Literacy Program coordinator Kim Vinton was placed in "job in jeopardy" status after the inappropriate conversations came to light, according to ESC personnel paperwork.
However, Vinton stayed in the position another three months until being reassigned in late August to a grant coordinator position within the agency, records show.
Records show the male employee who turned in Vinton later had his position terminated and was instead offered a part-time instructor position for significantly less pay.
The employee, who KSAT 12 is not naming, along with another ESC employee who worked under Vinton before leaving the agency, filed federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints against the ESC.
The EEOC dismissed the male employee's complaint earlier this month, said ESC officials, who have so far not commented on the other employee's complaint.
The KSAT 12 Defenders obtained a copy of some of the text messages, which included Vinton calling the male employee a "chicken."
"Riding (redacted) on ur (redacted) and (redacted). I'm on top guy laying down relaxing. I like to (redacted)," Vinton said in one message, describing a graphic sexual encounter.
The male employee, who responded to the messages for a certain period of time, later alerted management to the inappropriate communication, according to ESC records.
A source said the employee was ordered by Vinton to delete many of the messages, but he had already taken screenshots of many of the conversations.
When reached by telephone, the employee declined to comment and referred all of the Defenders' questions to his attorney.
An ESC official confirmed that the employee is currently not assigned any hours to work but has not yet formally separated from the agency.
While ESC officials acknowledge Vinton was investigated for the text messages, they contend that her being reassigned and other employees having their positions terminated was an unrelated restructuring move.
"When the Service Center leadership reviewed the Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) department, several program goals and expectations had not been met for the year and some dating back beyond that. The Service Center then realigned the AEL administration to achieve success in the implementation of the program. This resulted in the demotion of program administrators and was unrelated to the disciplinary actions that occurred earlier in the year," ESC Region 20 Executive Director Jeff Goldhorn said in a written statement.
Records show Vinton kept a position with ESC 20 despite a pattern of missteps in recent years that include behavioral and work-related issues.
Vinton was disciplined in 2014 for making inappropriate comments about an ex-employee and client, according to her personnel file. She was disciplined again in 2016 for using inappropriate language in the workplace, according to the file.
A job performance letter regarding Vinton sent last August stated that she was failing to manage AEL program supervisors and had missed several important deadlines related to the program.
In a letter to Vinton from deputy director Carolyn Castillo last May, Castillo referred to Vinton's behavior as "completely inappropriate and unbecoming of an ESC-20 employee."
Castillo and Goldhorn were not made available for interviews for this story.
"Education Service Center, Region 20, holds all employees to the highest professional standards and does not tolerate inappropriate behavior," Goldhorn said in a written statement.
Vinton declined a request for interview for this story but agreed to answer questions via email.
"I hope you are able to see the truth through the exaggerations and false statements you have been given," Vinton said in an email.
She went on to say that the male employee initiated the sexting and that she eventually terminated the conversations, contradicting records obtained by the Defenders related to the inappropriate conversations.
Education Service Centers govern adult education facilities and serve as a liaison between school districts and the Texas Education Agency.