Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 9, 1990 TAG: 9006090395
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Student and parent concerns seem to center on the way Principal Steven McDaniel disciplines students. Female students also have accused McDaniel of making improper sexually oriented remarks to them, but the principal said his comments have been misunderstood.
People packed a special School Board meeting Friday night in a Highland County courtroom that lasted only five minutes. The board issued a brief statement, saying it needed to hire an attorney to advise the board in the dispute.
Parents' and students' demands could result in legal action and a large added expense to taxpayers, the board said.
Because of the negotiations, a community meeting scheduled for Monday night has been postponed, said Janice Warner, a Monterey businesswoman and spokeswoman for the parents' group. Depending on the results of the talks, the meeting will be rescheduled, Warner said.
Warner said she was concerned that emotionalism was interfering with communications between the parents and the School Board. She said she believed delaying Monday's meeting was for the best.
Warner said the problems at the school have been caused by McDaniel. "I don't think he can be effective in our system," she said.
The principal is in his first year at Highland County. McDaniel has blamed his problems on poor communication and says he's trying to do a better job.
Warner said she never felt the school, one of the state's smallest, had a discipline problem, but School Board member Benny Armstrong said he's sure there was one.
by CNB