Recordpub.com - Southeast principal's fate on hold Board hears case from public to keep Miller

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

About 50 parents attended a meeting of the Southeast Board of Education to support the principal of the primary school, who will have to wait until March 31 to learn her fate.

The board will wait until that meeting to consider a recommendation by Superintendent Tom Harrison to not renew the contract of Christine Miller, principal of Southeast Primary School.

Meanwhile, the board accepted the resignation of Sharon Parrish, principal of Southeast Intermediate School, who tendered her letter of resignation on Tuesday. It is effective July 31, when her contract expires.

Several people who attended Wednesday's special meeting spoke in support of Miller, and referred to her evaluations, which were obtained by a parent and distributed publicly.

The latest evaluation, dated March 12, points to "decisions that are not student centered" and that her "vision does not comply with the vision that the current school board and superintendent have for this district."

"Because of this, it is my conclusion that Mrs. Miller should seek employment at a district with educational needs that are congruent with her skills," the evaluation states. "Consequently, Mrs. Miller's contract will not be recommended for renewal."

Kara Buell of Diamond said Miller instituted several positive behavior programs, including the "Pirate Way," and knows her children by name. She reminded board members that they are elected to "represent the community."

"Trust is earned, not given away blindly," she said. "There is an outpouring from the parents of our trust and satisfaction of Mrs. Miller ... Southeast schools have just begun to heal from the discord of the past four years. We are in a precarious position. I fear that if you refuse to renew this contract, you with have destroyed our fragile trust and place us once again in a state of discord."

Dan Miller, the principal's husband, said his wife often talks about how much she loves her job and the teachers who work for her. He pointed to "inconsistencies" between an evaluation given to her in 2006 by Dewey Chapman, former interim superintendent, and the ones given this year by Harrison.

He said programs his wife instituted have resulted in a 50 percent reduction in behavioral problems in the school, with some students achieving goals because they "want to say the pledge of allegiance with Mrs. Miller."

"Christine loves her job, she loves your kids, and why I have to defend her I'll never, never know," he said. "You need to renew her contract because it's the right thing to do."

Several parents were angry when the board limited the public discussion period to 20 minutes, saying they would remember it the next time the board asks for a levy.

Daniel Connell, Miller's attorney, asked the board to have its discussion in public, saying his client is entitled to a public hearing. After the board held an executive session instead, Connell tried to deliver his client's resignation.

Instead, board president David Kemble announced that a decision on Miller's status will be tabled until the March 31 meeting, when the board can have its legal counsel present.

A brief statement from Harrison stated that he is "not permitted to discuss issues regarding personnel" and directed all questions to Roetzel & Andress, the Akron law firm representing the district.

After the meeting, Miller said she did not want to resign but would do so to avoid non-renewal of her contract.

"I don't want to resign," she said. "I love my job."

Posted by schrode March 21, 2008

Wow! That is all I can say about the Southeast Local Schools board meeting on March 19. The superintindent and the board are clearly out of touch with primary education. From looking at the information about board members and the superintindent, no one has primary education experience. Isn't that why you hire people with expertise in that area? Mrs. Miller, as evidenced by the information provided by the people, who were allowed to speak, is definitely one of those people. It was obvious by the evaluation done by the current superintindent that he is looking for openings to place someone else. There was not one good reason for nonrewing an administrator. In fact, the reasons he gave are laughable, if they were not threatening the job of a dedicated educator. These reasons would definitely not hold up if Mrs. Miller had the protection of a union. What is really amazing though is that a board of education allows someone who has worked as a superintindent for less than 7 months to begin nonrewing other administrators. Also, it was clear the other evening that the president of the board does not care to hear from the people that he represents. He chastised the public for not reading the information he told them to read while the board was in executive session that stated that the board only had to allow comments from the public for 20 minutes. However, he failed to read for himself the portion of the Ohio Revised Code that was provided to the public that stated that an employee is entitled to a public hearing. He denied Mrs. Miller her rights and insisted upon meeting in executive session. Who has something to hide here? She was willing to have everyone hear what the board had to say, but they weren't willing to hold a public discussion about Mrs. Miller. I would advise all taxpayers in Southeast Local School District to keep an eye on your board of education and your new superintinedent. Speaking as an primary school educator for over 30 years, they are not looking at the best interests of the students in your district.

Posted by chuckie1 March 20, 2008

I understand all the students in the entire Primary building made signs today and put them in the hallways listing the reasons they love Mrs. Miller as their principal. If the teachers and parents support and respect her and the kids love her, doesn't that say it all??

What is the real agenda here? It has NOTHING to do with Mrs. Miller's performance. The Board did not come to last night's meeting as independent thinkers, being open to what was being said. They seem to have a plan that is defintely not in the best interests of the students. There will never be a principal who cares about the kids as much as her.

How can a superintendent with only 4 months in the job (and never been a superintendent before) determine Mrs. Miller is not doing a good job when a very experienced superintendent (Mr. Chapman)evaluated her as satisfactory after working with her for an entire school year?