Unanswered Questions Surround P’ville HS Principal’s Departure

With two short sentences, a principal’s career in a school district came to a controversial end last week.

Pleasantville High School Principal Dawn Bartz had made clear Pleasantville is the district she wanted to remain for the long term.

But just eight days before expressing that sentiment in an Examiner article unrelated to her resignation, Bartz wrote a statement to Superintendent of Schools Mary Fox-Alter.

“Dear Mary: It is with great sadness that I submit this letter of resignation from my position as Principal of the Pleasantville High School. My last official day of work will be July 31, 2013.”

While the letter is self-explanatory, the details and circumstances around it have led to anger, confusion and controversy for a school district and Board of Education under intense scrutiny. Though Bartz wrote those words, she claimed she had little choice.

Facing complaints from a “handful” of teachers, the probationary principal said she had two choices–resign or fail to see her contract renewed.

The Board of Education unanimously accepted her unwilling resignation at its June 18 meeting in front of more than 200 parents, teachers, students and other community members. While there was fierce opposition to letting Bartz go, the outcome has left questions unanswered and countless community members frustrated.

The Examiner interviewed Bartz in her office at the high school last Wednesday and Fox-Alter and Board President Lois Winkler at the district offices on Thursday following last week’s tense meeting.

The Examiner also obtained a letter Bartz wrote to the board, in which she hoped to persuade trustees to vote against the resignation. Through a FOIL request, The Examiner also received a copy of the agreement between Bartz, the school district, the school board and the Pleasantville Administrators Association.

When Fox-Alter was asked if Bartz was forced to resign, she responded by saying, “She’s a probationary principal, that’s a matter of record. It was a consensual agreement, signed with legal advice, signed with union representatives, and it occurred over a period of time.”

Complete Surprise

Prior to a late April meeting with Fox-Alter, Bartz said she thought her time as principal was going well. With glowing reviews from the community at large, Bartz was shocked to hear objections had been lodged against her. There were no specific complaints, and in turn, she was unable to defend herself. In her letter to the board, she wrote that she hadn’t been provided with “substantive information but instead with snippets of rumor, second and third hand accounts of alleged incidents and no ability to discuss or refute the allegations.”

In addition to that, Bartz said she badly wanted to meet with trustees to explain her position, but was never afforded that opportunity. She steadfastly maintained that had she been able to speak with the board, she’d still have a job.

“There’s not a question,” Bartz stated firmly.

The only contact the board had with Bartz is when Winkler, along with Fox-Alter, met with her on June 13 to formulate a joint statement regarding the resignation. Bartz refused to be part of crafting a statement because it would have been “fake.” No statement was ever released.

Winkler noted that although the board did not meet with Bartz, it had “complete” information when coming to a decision. Trustees also never spoke with anyone who may have registered a complaint.

Fox-Alter explained the protocol.

“It’s my responsibility to supervise the administrators, it’s my responsibility to give all, all information to the Board of Education.”

From there, the board then makes a decision. The decision was to accept Bartz’s resignation, despite mass public opposition.

“This was a decision that was very well thought out,” Winkler said. “We had excellent information, complete information. We put a lot of thought and effort and care (into it).”

Although the resignation wasn’t made official until the June 18 board meeting, word about Bartz leaving the district circulated around the high school and community for as much as a month before. Bartz said she received calls from parents asking whether talk of her departure was true. At first, she told parents there was nothing to worry about, but as rumors persisted Bartz could no longer sidestep the questions.

“My goal was to resign and keep this very quiet, which I did for a long time,” she said.

But Bartz said a “couple” of teachers told students of the possible resignation. From there, word spread rapidly. She relayed that information to Fox-Alter.

Bartz contended that Fox-Alter never followed up and those teachers responsible for the leak weren’t held accountable.

However, Fox-Alter said when one name came to her attention, she took action. The teacher was investigated but cleared of any wrongdoing. The district questioned all students in that teacher’s classes and all stated the teacher never mentioned Bartz was leaving.

“Multiple classes were interviewed. Every single student said no,” Fox-Alter said. “Many said absolutely no.”

Bartz also alleged that Fox-Alter is the person that informed teachers of her departure. Fox-Alter maintained that she and the board kept the matter completely confidential after the agreement was signed.

With Bartz only in her second year with the district, she wasn’t eligible for tenure until July 1, 2014. Without tenure, a district can cut ties with a principal at any time without cause.

When asked if she can recall a specific incident or problem that led to a complaint, Bartz said she couldn’t. She cited negative evaluations of certain teachers as a possible reason for some discontent.

Another reason, Bartz said, could have been her willingness to make changes at the school that had been requested by some faculty members when she arrived. But a handful appeared resistant, she said.

As a probationary principal, Bartz acknowledged she doesn’t have many rights but was bothered that no due process took place. Rumors and innuendo led to pressure for her ouster, which she called a “disservice.”

“(Fox-Alter) said all sorts of nice things about me that she always had and then told me that some faculty members were not happy with me and that she needed to stand by the faculty members,” Bartz said.

Because of the confidentiality clause in the resignation agreement, Fox-Alter was unable to respond to questions pertaining to the complaints made against Bartz.

Other terms of the agreement required that Fox-Alter write Bartz a letter of recommendation. Two initiatives Fox-Alter referenced in the letter were improved parent and community communication and how she helped spearhead expansion of the college admissions process.

Fox-Alter also wrote Bartz added intervention programs and additional classes such as creative writing and journalism.

In her first year as principal, Bartz faced three challenging personnel situations involving teachers, in which she worked with the superintendent in a highly professional manner, the letter went on to read.

“The aforementioned initiatives that she has implemented at PHS have made it a better place,” Fox-Alter wrote. “I highly recommend her for employment.”

Looking to the Future

As Bartz and the district soon part ways, both will begin a new search. Bartz plans on looking for another job, preferably one similar to what she has had at Pleasantville while the district is in search of a principal.

District officials have said it would continue to inform and involve the public of the ongoing interim and permanent principal searches. The board has been working on a transition plan for the past month. Details will be revealed at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

As for Bartz, though she’ll be looking for another job, she wants to still live in Pleasantville. Right now, Bartz said her primary concern is for her three children and to make sure they handle the difficult transition.

As part of the agreement, Bartz will remain under the school district’s health insurance plan for the next year. The district had no contractual obligation to do so following the resignation.

Although Bartz still has a little more than a month before she packs up, she’ll continue to wonder how it all went wrong and how she lost a job she loved.

“I have more questions than anything. I’ll be leaving here, I’ll still have the same questions,” Bartz said. “What happened? Who? Why? And is there anything that could’ve been done?”