The seemingly sudden resignation of Mike Duprey, the acting principal at Pioneer Valley Regional School, has upset many students and parents, some who have other gripes and see a pattern raising questions about the district’s new superintendent.
About 75 parents, students and teachers crammed into the small Pearl Rhodes Elementary School cafeteria in Leyden recently to voice heartfelt and often heated complaints about Superintendent Ruth Miller.
Miller, who has been on the job for more than a year, faced sharp criticism on several fronts. Residents complained about the cost of moving the superintendent’s office, the number of Pioneer staff members resigning and the hiring of a public safety officer.
Duprey resignation, which Miller initially announced as a retirement, was the last straw for many upset parents, teachers and students.
“The system is bleeding administrators,” said Scott Lyman, a former principal of Bernardston Elementary School and Gill Elementary School, implying the departures suggest something is amiss at Pioneer.
However, Miller said that the number of staff members leaving — including six retirements and a sabbatical — is not unusual in comparison to years past.
The parents then went on to complain about the cost of moving the superintendent’s offices from old modulars to rented space in Northfield and about the introduction of a police resource officer in the schools, seen as a sensible precaution by some and unneeded by others.
What we found interesting and hopeful, amid the grumbling, was that townspeople were engaged in the governance of their schools enough to challenge the superintendent. We also found it refreshing that at least some school board members were open-minded about the complaints. Too often school boards brush aside complaints like these and side by default with their superintendent.
“Personally, I’ve never felt less in-the-know as a member of the School Committee,” said committee member Peggy Kaeppel.
“I think it’s a travesty to lose (Duprey),” committee member Bill Wahlstrom said. “Given the sentiment that was expressed tonight, I don’t think we’ve gotten to the bottom of this yet.”
It seems clear that the discussion is not over — nor should it be.
Miller had supporters at the meeting, among them Dawn Magi, Warwick Selectboard chairwoman, who said Miller “wants the best education for everyone … I can understand people are upset … We’ve known these people (who are resigning) for a long time. But sometimes people need to move on, and sometimes it’s to our benefit to make a change.”
We need more clarity on the facts to judge specific complaints and the broader insinuation that Miller is somehow driving people out. But it seems like a complaint worth considering further, and we hope that the School Committee will address the community’s concerns and not just wait for them to fade away.
We’d like to see those explorations held in open sessions because what most of those residents were talking about the other day were not “personnel” matters but rather the professional performance of their superintendent. Being relatively new, Miller may deserve some slack, but may also need some scrutiny and guidance if the facts warrant.
These are the public’s schools after all, and the performance of everyone in those schools is the public’s business.