Deal of the Day



opinion




School Board made wrong decision in removing principal
Published: August 25, 2010

Dear Editor,

I’m still trying to come up with a possible reason why three out of five School Board members would decide that an appropriate response to an allegedly crooked bookkeeper would be giving the Principal, Linda Dail a “lateral transfer.”

A quick check of the Powhatan County Schools website revealed three financial positions on an administrative level at the School Board; two Assistant Superintendents for Finance and Business Operations, one who has a listed salary of $95,810, the other’s salary is not listed, as well as a Superintendent of School Board Accounts, salaried at $61,452. (Salaries are as of March, 2010, as reported by Powhatan Today.)

I believe it is safe to assume that the three administrative-level financial positions are filled by qualified individuals with a background in finance. It is also safe to assume that taxpayers are paying these individuals in excess of 200k to oversee the financial workings of the school system.

I would have anticipated the Board to instill a safeguard for school held funds, utilizing said personnel. Yet the only action the School Board is reportedly taking is to remove the Principal, who I would assume has a background in education. 

The decision to remove a Principal that the majority of the Board agrees, “served with distinction,” replace her with a current Assistant Principal, and leave their position unfilled defies common sense. This is especially true in light of these tough economic times that call for making the most of our resources.
Kudos to Ms. Ayers and Mr. Gresham for voting against the School Board’s decision and recognizing what an asset Ms. Dail was as Principal. It is hoped that voters will remember who had the students’ best interest at heart the next time they have the opportunity to choose who they want to represent the needs of our children.

Diane Elrod
Powhatan



Reader Comments


No gruge
Aug. 28, 2010, 07:46 AM

Disappointed are you saying the Board of Education acted because they did not like Dail.  Rick Gideons voted to make Dail principal and has known her for years.  If Gideons votes to take action, then I feel something had to be amiss.


Disappointed
Aug. 28, 2010, 06:59 AM

Whoa! Before anyone pulls a hamstring jumping to conclusions and making assumptions, let me just clarify that I personally do not believe that I “know” anymore than anyone else in the general public about what is going on. I do, however, hear and see what has been made public knowledge. It is seems that A LOT of people “think” they know the situation, but it is also very clear-especially given the very contradictory nature of the information that has come to light- that no one out there really “knows” they just “think” they do.  And given the spiteful, personal nature of some of the negative comments I’ve read about Mrs. Dail over the past few weeks it is obvious that some disgruntled individuals are enjoying some axe grinding…leading one to conclude (correctly or not) that this is more than a cut and dry issue and there is more going on than meets the eye!


Baby Monitor
Aug. 26, 2010, 11:23 PM

There is one other was disappointed could know what happened.  The person at the center of the controversy ran their month, and gave Disappointed their version of events. 

Always remember there are three sides to every story - your side, my side and the truth.


Fly on the wall
Aug. 26, 2010, 01:55 PM

Disappointed, unless you were a fly on the wall, how do you “know” or “think” you know more than the rest of us?  I believe that was a closed session.  Unless you talked to board members, you wouldn’t know the whole story and even if you did talk to them, they can’t give you the details so I am back to how do you “know” or “think” you know more than the rest of us?


Straight and Arrow of Moseley
Aug. 26, 2010, 11:17 AM

The was no mistake.  Mrs. Dail was responsible for over seeing the bookkeeper.  She did not do her job, and was reassigned.  I think the SB treated her very fairly by allowing her to serve out her last year. 

This whole affair would have amounted to nothing, except Mrs. Dail had to go around running her mouth about how she was wronged.  Why doesn’t she take some responsibility for not properly supervising the bookkeeper.

The bottom line is that she was held accountable for not properly preforming her job.


Disappointed of Powhatan
Aug. 26, 2010, 10:08 AM

Regardless of what you “know” or “think” you know—never forget that there is ALWAYS more to every story!!  I don’t care what personal axes anyone had to grind…the removal of Mrs. Dail was a grave mistake and the situation was grossly mis-handled.


Hello
Aug. 25, 2010, 04:37 PM

The only mistake made by the Sch. Broad is that they did not fire her.


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