Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Upheaval at School for the Deaf | Rhode Island news | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal | Breaking news
Three trustees of the state-run Rhode Island School for the Deaf have resigned and an administrator has been abruptly fired, the latest examples of turmoil that has affected the public school in recent years.
The upheaval on the nine-member board, which oversees the school, comes during a time of painful transition. Earlier this year, the teachers’ union voted no confidence in board chairman Marc Gursky, and teachers have complained about an atmosphere of mistrust and poor communication under Director Lori Dunsmore, who was hired last fall.
Gursky, a lawyer who was appointed chairman 2½ years ago, offered no explanation for his departure, submitting a one-sentence resignation letter to the state Department of Education last Friday.
Gursky declined to comment on the matter when reached by The Journal on Wednesday.
A week earlier, trustee Karen Fifer Ferry resigned, according to an April 11 letter Gursky sent to the Education Department that did not state a reason for her departure. Ferry served as a trustee for 2½ years.
A third trustee, Mary E. Wambach, who was appointed last April, sent a resignation letter to Gursky on March 13, in which she cited increased job responsibilities as her reason for stepping down. Wambach also alluded to tensions at the 132-year-old school, saying she would like to continue to help in an informal capacity. “I hope that when some of the current dust settles,” she wrote, “that I can be of assistance … with the Building/Outreach committees.”
Dunsmore, who is deaf, said Wednesday through an interpreter that she was aware only of the resignations of Ferry and Gursky, and said she had not received notice of Wambach’s resignation.
David V. Abbott, deputy education commissioner, said the board should not be hampered by the resignations. Abbott said he would update the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, which appoints trustees for the school, at the Regents’ regular meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Trustees are expected to select an interim chairperson at a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday. The board has also slated a “discussion … on improving the Board of Trustees’ functions/purpose and its working relationship with the Director.”
“I will provide answers to the board at the April meeting,” Dunsmore said through an interpreter, and declined further comment.
John Carty, president of the teachers’ union, said teachers do not know why the trustees resigned, or why assistant director of administration and operations Jonathan Seamans was abruptly fired April 10.
“We still do not know why and we have asked the director,” Carty said. “I told the director it wasn’t healthy to have all these rumors going around, but she said she couldn’t comment. We still don’t know if the firing is related to the resignations or not.”
Seamans has petitioned the Education Department for a hearing seeking reinstatement and a payment of $95,566 for wrongful termination, according to his lawyer, Matthew Oliverio.
“He received a call out of the blue on April 10 from the school’s personnel specialist and they never gave him a hearing or a reason for his termination in writing, to which he is entitled as an administrator under state law,” said Oliverio. “The board also violated the Open Meetings Act when they met on April 8 and made the decision. I think that school is really in disarray.”
The School for the Deaf’s lawyer, Stephen Robinson, said Dunsmore was within her rights to fire Seamans.
“We believe Mr. Seamans was an employee at will,” Robinson said. “That means you may be let go at any time for any reason. We do not believe Mr. Seamans is entitled to a due process hearing.”
Leadership issues continue to plague the school. After longtime director Peter M. Blackwell retired in 2001, his replacement, Reginald Redding, lasted just two years before being fired. His tenure was marked by deteriorating relations with teachers and a state audit that showed fiscal irregularities. Faculty member John F. Plante served as interim director until Dunsmore was hired.
State education officials say they are aware that tensions at the school have intensified in recent months, but say they continue to support Dunsmore and her plan to institute changes at the school, which uses various methods to teach its hearing-impaired population. Many of the school’s 105 students have other learning disabilities, in addition to deafness. About 70 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and many come from homes where the parents’ primary language is not English. The school lags on state test scores and has not yet incorporated tougher standards adopted by the state a few years ago into its curriculum.
“The more construction there is, the more dust there is,” Abbott said. “What we have seen from the direction of Marc Gursky and Lori Dunsmore was very positive, and we thought they were moving in the right direction. We hope the recent resignations don’t cause a major setback to the reforms we know need to happen there.”
Three trustees of the state-run Rhode Island School for the Deaf have resigned and an administrator has been abruptly fired, the latest examples of turmoil that has affected the public school in recent years.
The upheaval on the nine-member board, which oversees the school, comes during a time of painful transition. Earlier this year, the teachers’ union voted no confidence in board chairman Marc Gursky, and teachers have complained about an atmosphere of mistrust and poor communication under Director Lori Dunsmore, who was hired last fall.
Gursky, a lawyer who was appointed chairman 2½ years ago, offered no explanation for his departure, submitting a one-sentence resignation letter to the state Department of Education last Friday.
Gursky declined to comment on the matter when reached by The Journal on Wednesday.
A week earlier, trustee Karen Fifer Ferry resigned, according to an April 11 letter Gursky sent to the Education Department that did not state a reason for her departure. Ferry served as a trustee for 2½ years.
A third trustee, Mary E. Wambach, who was appointed last April, sent a resignation letter to Gursky on March 13, in which she cited increased job responsibilities as her reason for stepping down. Wambach also alluded to tensions at the 132-year-old school, saying she would like to continue to help in an informal capacity. “I hope that when some of the current dust settles,” she wrote, “that I can be of assistance … with the Building/Outreach committees.”
Dunsmore, who is deaf, said Wednesday through an interpreter that she was aware only of the resignations of Ferry and Gursky, and said she had not received notice of Wambach’s resignation.
David V. Abbott, deputy education commissioner, said the board should not be hampered by the resignations. Abbott said he would update the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, which appoints trustees for the school, at the Regents’ regular meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Trustees are expected to select an interim chairperson at a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday. The board has also slated a “discussion … on improving the Board of Trustees’ functions/purpose and its working relationship with the Director.”
“I will provide answers to the board at the April meeting,” Dunsmore said through an interpreter, and declined further comment.
John Carty, president of the teachers’ union, said teachers do not know why the trustees resigned, or why assistant director of administration and operations Jonathan Seamans was abruptly fired April 10.
“We still do not know why and we have asked the director,” Carty said. “I told the director it wasn’t healthy to have all these rumors going around, but she said she couldn’t comment. We still don’t know if the firing is related to the resignations or not.”
Seamans has petitioned the Education Department for a hearing seeking reinstatement and a payment of $95,566 for wrongful termination, according to his lawyer, Matthew Oliverio.
“He received a call out of the blue on April 10 from the school’s personnel specialist and they never gave him a hearing or a reason for his termination in writing, to which he is entitled as an administrator under state law,” said Oliverio. “The board also violated the Open Meetings Act when they met on April 8 and made the decision. I think that school is really in disarray.”
The School for the Deaf’s lawyer, Stephen Robinson, said Dunsmore was within her rights to fire Seamans.
“We believe Mr. Seamans was an employee at will,” Robinson said. “That means you may be let go at any time for any reason. We do not believe Mr. Seamans is entitled to a due process hearing.”
Leadership issues continue to plague the school. After longtime director Peter M. Blackwell retired in 2001, his replacement, Reginald Redding, lasted just two years before being fired. His tenure was marked by deteriorating relations with teachers and a state audit that showed fiscal irregularities. Faculty member John F. Plante served as interim director until Dunsmore was hired.
State education officials say they are aware that tensions at the school have intensified in recent months, but say they continue to support Dunsmore and her plan to institute changes at the school, which uses various methods to teach its hearing-impaired population. Many of the school’s 105 students have other learning disabilities, in addition to deafness. About 70 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and many come from homes where the parents’ primary language is not English. The school lags on state test scores and has not yet incorporated tougher standards adopted by the state a few years ago into its curriculum.
“The more construction there is, the more dust there is,” Abbott said. “What we have seen from the direction of Marc Gursky and Lori Dunsmore was very positive, and we thought they were moving in the right direction. We hope the recent resignations don’t cause a major setback to the reforms we know need to happen there.”