Just got word that our horrible principal is out as of July 1!

Sadly she wasn't fired - just reassigned. As someone here posted a few months ago it is almost impossible to fire a principal so they tend to be "promoted" as a means of getting rid of them. I assume that's what happened here.

She has been given a job at central office that she applied to and was turned down for 4 years ago. At the time it was considered a "demotion" but something she really wanted to do. Now it is being touted as a "big promotion". Her replacement is, by all accounts, "wonderful". Neither position was advertised or listed on the district's website. Something similar happened a couple of years ago following a sticky sexual harassment situation at one of the elementary schools.

Interesting that all of this happened AFTER they approve DD's OOD placement.

Thanks for the update, Pemberley. At least she's out of your life, but it's sad to know that such a dud will continue to exert a modicum of influence in young lives. *shudder*

Wow. Somebody "up there" is listening to what's going on and trying to protect the kids...

DeeDee

Yay!!!! I hope that the new principal is able to effect positive change at the school for the kids who remain there!

polarbear

It feels like party time in MunchkinLand, huh?

Best wishes for a smoother year ahead! (And may your path never cross with the old principal again.)

Who appoints principals over there? Here the elected school board of trustees appoints principals and the principal and the board of trustees appoint the rest of the staff. All the principals and teachers in the whole country are paid centrally by the government. The board of trustees can fire too but teachers are one of the few groups in the country with a strong union (doctors and nurses being the other notable ones) so the board needs to make sure the follow all processes and proceedures with great care.

Well, I hope that protects other children from her. I'm sorry she wasn't gone soon enough to protect yours.

Puffin principals are appointed by the superintendent, I believe with approval from the Board of Education. Because of union regulations all positions in the district must be posted internally and then if not filled advertisements are placed for those outside the district who may want to apply. There is a certain date by which internal postings are done - if a job opens after that date then it is supposed to proceed directly to the public advertisement phase. Internal candidates can still apply but they don't get preferential treatment at that point. Everyone in the school district is paid locally. The district receives federal and state funding in addition to local tax payments but no one is paid by the federal government.

Because of the other "sticky situation" I mentioned earlier both last year and this year the district advertised for an elementary school principal. That may have given them some leeway on this principal appointment. No one has been able to explain the sudden appearance of the job opening at central office, though. Clearly it is the one position horrible principal would have willingly moved to so there may have been some creativity applied to making it available. We have had more startling events recently that likely made it worth the district's while to find a way to remove this principal.

I know a lot of people and have access to a lot of information but I may never know the real story behind this. There are a lot of parents breathing a sigh of relief though. I bet there will be a lot of tongue wagging in the coming weeks and months but I don't know how much of it will be reliable info.

I am glad someone found a creative way to solve the problem but a bit sorry for the people who now have a new workmate. Thanks for the explanation - you can only grasp so much from fiction. And I don't think the Simpsons are a great source of information anyway. Our system does mostly work but I'm not sure about the merit of people who may have no relevant experience appointing principals, not to mention the different skill sets in different socio-economic areas.

Hope the new Principal is wonderful.