How do you find out why a school principal was suspended? Hutto (Howe: credit, elementary school) - Austin - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 05-04-2011, 02:37 PM

We haven't seen the principal of our elementary school in over a month. Rumor has it she has been suspended. How do you find out if it's true or not when no one is talking beyond the "she has been suspended"?

Shouldn't we be able to know if someone in authority at the school gets suspended and for what?

Just wondering.

hoffdano · 05-04-2011, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

We haven't seen the principal of our elementary school in over a month. Rumor has it she has been suspended. How do you find out if it's true or not when no one is talking beyond the "she has been suspended"?

Shouldn't we be able to know if someone in authority at the school gets suspended and for what?

Just wondering.

I think you should call the superintendent's office and ask simply "where is the principal of my elementary school?" You might have reasonable secondary questions depending on what they tell you. You could ask "who is the acting principal." Or "Is our current principal likely to return?"

I doubt they will tell you "why" the principal is suspended (if that is the actual situation) because most personnel issues are legally protected from public disclosure. They do not have to say "suspicion of drugs" or "investigation of theft" or "poor work habits." If the person is terminated at some point, they don't have to tell you why.

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 05-04-2011, 03:04 PM

Thanks for the information. I did not know they were protected from public disclosure. Interesting.

hoffdano · 05-04-2011, 08:38 PM

I probably wasn't as clear as I could have been. We are not in most cases entitled to know why an employee is suspended nor fired. An employer could release that information, but they generally will not. The don't want to create a reason for a fired employee to sue.

That's why today, for most professional positions, a former employer will not give a "reference" for someone interviewing for a job. Even a good reference. If a person doesn't get the new job, the "old" company doesn't want to be be accused of giving an unfair reference. So instead all they will do is verify employment.

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 05-05-2011, 07:25 AM

I suppose it isn't a very clear issue to begin with so I was glad for what little I've learned so far. Thank you for shedding some light on it.

Personally, people entrusted with the lives of small children should not be protected. Their actions should be an open book. What are they being protected from? What about the children?

What a racket.

SpicyPepper · 05-05-2011, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

We haven't seen the principal of our elementary school in over a month. Rumor has it she has been suspended. How do you find out if it's true or not when no one is talking beyond the "she has been suspended"?

Shouldn't we be able to know if someone in authority at the school gets suspended and for what?

Just wondering.

I live in Hutto and I have 3 children who attend Hutto schools; curioius as to which school this pertains to...

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 05-05-2011, 12:51 PM

I'm too scared to tell you. Call the superintendent and ask him.

love roses · 05-05-2011, 09:28 PM

Well, my daughter goes to Cottonwood Creek, so it's not that one. Our principal will be moving to Ray next school year and we are getting Veteran"s Hill's principal. I have no idea what's up with any of the other schools or their principals though. I've not heard anything about that. I have a friend on the school board, maybe I could ask her. Although, if noone is saying anything, I don't know if she would either. I'm on our PTC board and I'd bet that someone on your PTC board probably knows. Principals usually attend meetings (ours always does) and if the principal has not been attending then someone on the board probably knows why.

h886 · 05-06-2011, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

I suppose it isn't a very clear issue to begin with so I was glad for what little I've learned so far. Thank you for shedding some light on it.

Personally, people entrusted with the lives of small children should not be protected. Their actions should be an open book. What are they being protected from? What about the children?

What a racket.

Well, this country affords people a reasonable right to privacy. If you take that away from teachers because they work with children, what's next? Your child goes to the same school as mine so I have a right to know every single detail about your life and you have no right to privacy? It's a slippery slope where someone wants to know it all about everybody else while maintaining their own privacy.

If there is something important to the public safety where they deem the public needs to know exactly what is going on and they have evidence to support it, they will likely announce it at some point. Otherwise, announcing why they are investigating or suspending the person opens them up to lawsuits if it turns out they made even the slightest error, which the taxpayer must then pay for. I do not think that is worth everyone in town being privy to their personal affairs.

oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots · 05-06-2011, 05:56 AM

quote=h886;19038592 Well, this country affords people a reasonable right to privacy.
If you take that away from teachers because they work with children, what's next? Your child goes to the same school as mine so I have a right to know every single detail about your life and you have no right to privacy? It's a slippery slope where someone wants to know it all about everybody else while maintaining their own privacy.

If there is something important to the public safety where they deem the public needs to know exactly what is going on and they have evidence to support it, they will likely announce it at some point. Otherwise, announcing why they are investigating or suspending the person opens them up to lawsuits if it turns out they made even the slightest error, which the taxpayer must then pay for. I do not think that is worth everyone in town being privy to their personal affairs. end quote

Glad to know you're in the same city. Maybe we can meet for coffee sometime to have more conversation.

I never said, "let's take all the teacher rights away." And, it's more than wanting gossip. A person seeking information as a citizen isn't the same as being a principal of a school. However, discrediting the person seeking the information is often a tactic used to stop further questions. It isn't gossip some of us are looking for it's information regarding an authority figure within the school. A person that is entrusted with hundreds of small children that has been suspended.

It would appear who you are and what system you are in determines whether or not you are privileged with the right to not have your information given out.
I suppose the real reason behind any of it is litigation and nothing more.

We're not looking for a diary. We're wondering why a person in power was suspended. I'm not going to make the leap into we want all our privacy rights taken away. (although who has the rights is an issue) Half of Peyton Place already knows...the rest of us rabble just want to know too.

And please define who "they" is.