Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 17, 1993 TAG: 9306170283
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By neglecting to advise the School Board on how to handle Shepherd's employment status, Tota's administration is failing to meet its responsibilities, O'Neil said.
"That statement is ludicrous," Tota said Wednesday. He countered that O'Neil appeared to be trying to gain publicity and that she should stop trying to speak for the entire School Board.
"The way to speak to the administration is through the board chairman," he said.
At issue is whether Tota should report the findings of an administrative investigation and recommend to the board what action to take regarding Shepherd's employment. The board has postponed voting on whether to reappoint Shepherd as principal of Hurt Park Elementary School, although he has not been asked to step down.
"I find this very frustrating," said O'Neil. "We've received no formal report from the administration. No report of any review of the situation and no recommendation for action."
Tota said he made his recommendation when he asked that Shepherd's name remain on a personnel list approved by the board June 1. But the board removed Shepherd's name, allowing it to postpone a decision until the case is resolved in court Aug. 3.
The board has not asked Tota for any further information since then, he said.
O'Neil, who said she was motivated by concern for the schoolchildren, said Tota responded to her requests for information by saying the administration did not want to question witnesses for fear of disrupting the police investigation.
But based on conversations with School Board Attorney William X. Parsons, O'Neil said, "it is my understanding that an administrative review would not jeopardize or impede the legal process."
Both O'Neil and board member Don Poff have said they want Tota to resolve this issue before June 30, when he will leave to become superintendent of schools in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The matter should not be left for Superintendent-elect E. Wayne Harris, they have said.
"I'm sort of horrified by the rush of this," said Tota, who added that Harris was "more than capable" of handling the situation and that he had received no complaints from Hurt Park parents about the safety of their children.
Tota said he sees no reason to act before Shepherd's trial.
"It's not going to make or break the school system," he said.
But Tota has recommended removal of other school employees charged with crimes before their trials, as in the case of John Canty, a dropout-prevention counselor accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl under his guidance.
Earlier this year, the board voted not to renew Canty's contract. His case has yet to be heard.
In an earlier interview, School Board Chairman Finn Pincus said that case was different because the prosecutor shared the results of the police investigation with the School Board. Similar information was not available in the Shepherd case, he said.
Pincus could not be reached for comment on this story.
Shepherd was arraigned Monday on charges that he failed to report to Child Protective Services the suspicions of four teachers who noticed unusual facial bruises on an 11-year-old student. State law requires principals and others who come into frequent contact with children to report cases of suspected child abuse "immediately."
On the advice of his attorney, Shepherd has refused to comment on the case.
by CNB