About 200 people pack fire hall to challenge school board's actions.
View full sizeDavid Zehner, suspended Jordan-Elbridge High School principal, read a statement during a community meeting Sunday.For nearly two hours Sunday night, about 200 residents of the Jordan-Elbridge school district blasted the school board and administration over the controversy that has unsettled the district leadership.
The board suspended two administrators with pay, transferred another principal involuntarily to an other job and negotiated the superintendent’s retirement with two years left on her contract.
Julie Hickey and several others who spoke at the meeting said they want the district and board members to explain the actions against the administrators.
“Not the typical employee issue of moving a teacher from third grade to second grade,” she explained, “but the suspension that required them to be removed from their title.”
“What is it?” she asked.” Are they abusing our children? Physically, mentally, emotionally. We have no idea what it is. We need to know. You can do that without breaking confidentiality ... You’re nervous sending your children. You don’t know what’s going on.”
Among the moves: the suspension with pay of high school Principal David Zehner and Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance William Hamilton, the transfer of former Elbridge Elementary Principal Janice Schue to a new job as special projects administrator and the early retirement of Superintendent Marilyn Dominick.
The forum, organized by an ad hoc committee headed by parent Mary Jo Wick, was designed to let residents air their concerns. They left school officials a list of questions to answer. Among them:
- Was suspension with pay the only option for Zehner and Hamilton?
- Why has current Elbridge Elementary Principal Eric Varney been denied tenure?
- With Zehner suspended, why wasn’t Schue moved to interim principal?
- What is the job description for the special projects administrator?
- Is the district paying two lawyers to handle its legal affairs?
- Why has the district dragged its feet on forming a superintendent search committee, especially since Dominick announced her retirement in March?
The questions – and the criticism – were non-stop Sunday night and were frequently followed by applause from the partisan crowd.
One resident wanted to know if the district has a residency policy. She said Sue Gorton, who will take over as interim superintendent after Dominick retires Nov. 1, lives in Cazenovia.
“What is her interest in our district?” she asked. “She doesn’t reside here.”
Michele Smith said if residents don’t get answers, they should pursue other avenues.
“There’s due process, and these people are entitled to know why they were suspended, and as taxpayers, to some degree, we should know why they were suspended,” she said. “You can’t just hide behind a curtain anymore. There is a point where if questions aren’t answered, residents can file a class-action suit.”
Wick said the ad hoc committee hopes to translate the concerns raised by residents into written form and get the questions to school board members by mid-week to allow them time to prepare answers for the board’s Oct. 6 meeting. She urged residents to attend that meeting.
Contact John Stith at jstith@syracuse.com or 251-5718.