Members of the Derby Board of Education are scheduled to meet Monday to “take action” on the resignations of the Derby High School principal, the Derby Middle School principal, and the Derby Middle School dean of students.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Derby Middle School.
What’s Happening
Superintendent Matthew Conway put Derby Middle School Principal Sean Morrissey and Derby Middle School Dean of Students Matthew Spar on administrative leave effective Nov. 24 — although the school district did not confirm that information until Dec. 5.
Letters released to the Valley Indy Dec. 5 showed the pair were put on leave as Conway and the school board “reviewed information regarding the investigation of the events of Monday, Nov. 17, 2014.”
That’s the date when a written threat against students and staff was discovered on a stall within a girls’ bathroom in the middle school. The school was put in “lock in” mode as Derby police investigated. A 13-year-old student was accused of the crime a few days later.
Parents complained they were not kept in the loop during the incident. The school board opted to close the school a day after the incident as a precaution.
A parent told the Valley Indy that school officials ignored a previous written threat at the middle school. Sources told the Valley Indy a school employee actually erased the Nov. 17 threat written on a stall before police arrived to investigate.
Morrissey and Spar were replaced after a vote of the school board Dec. 3. It’s unclear when they submitted their resignations.
The school board’s vote angered some parents, who complained they had no input on the temporary replacement staffers inserted into leadership roles at the middle school.
In addition, the agenda for the meeting of Dec. 3 made no mention of the fact the district would be appointing new leaders for the middle school. That caused one frustrated parent to walk out of the meeting Dec. 3.
School officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly declined to talk about errors made, if any, in the handling of the threats to the middle school. Conway has said he can’t discuss personnel issues.
The Valley Indy submitted a Freedom of Information request for “any and all communications, documents and correspondence related to the school district’s review” of the threat.
Conway said there is nothing in writing regarding the investigation, and that two letters written prior to the investigation satisfied the Valley Indy’s request.
School officials have stressed the need to move forward and have promised parents student learning won’t be affected.
At a meeting Dec. 3, Conway credited staffers who came to work on a Sunday to come up with a plan to run the middle school in the absence of the two top administrators.
However, the first person mentioned in Conway’s speech, Derby High School Principal Greg Gaillard, abruptly left the district Dec. 9.
Gaillard, in a one-sentence resignation letter submitted Dec. 9, cited “personal reasons” for his departure.
Gaillard, employed by the district since 2007, first as a social studies teacher and then as an assistant principal, was a popular figure in the district.
Two parents on social media have suggested starting a petition to bring him back, but it was unclear Saturday as to whether they’ve moved beyond the idea stage.
The Valley Indy reached out to Gaillard Saturday for comment.
“I would like to wish the best to the entire Derby School community,” he said in a message. “My departure is for personal reasons and I appreciate the continued respect regarding this matter.”
Monday’s Meeting
Public comment will be allowed at the start of Monday’s 5:30 p.m. meeting.
The school board is then scheduled to go into executive session, a type of meeting closed to the public, to discuss the resignations with Conway, the school’s superintendent.
Here is the agenda, article continues below:
Accept Everyone’s Resignation by ValleyIndyDotOrg
While meeting in private, state law compels the school board to keep the discussion limited to the stated reason.
Executive session meetings are allowed in specific circumstances under the state Freedom of Information Act, such as when officials discuss:
- Real estate deals
- Specific employees (although the employee can mandate that the discussion be public)
- Security issues
- Legal strategy
The agenda for Monday’s meeting estimates the executive session will last 15 minutes. The school board will then convene again in public, to “take action” on the resignations.
The entire meeting will take 30 minutes, according to an estimate posted on the school board’s agenda.
