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Skinner’s contract is under review |
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Written by Carly Tamborski
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Wednesday, 24 April 2013 |
In its most heavily attended school board meeting this year, largely due to community members showing up to support high school principal Susie Skinner, the Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington School District Board of Education immediately went into executive session following the meeting’s commencement.
During the March 19 meeting, the Board voted not to renew Skinner’s employment contract, which surprised the community as well as Skinner, who was not given any indication of such a decision prior to that meeting.
Almost 100 people were in the cafeteria at the Tuesday, April 16, meeting and sat through an executive session that lasted for about two and a half hours. Twice during the session, Skinner and her lawyer, Erik Laursen, were called to join the board, and each time the duo walked back to the session and returned to the cafeteria, they were greeted with applause and cheers from the crowd.
Earlier that day, and prior to the meeting, Laursen filed paperwork on Skinner’s behalf officially suing the RULH Board of Education, “commanding the Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington Board of Education to renew [Skinner’s] employment contract, which is required under operation of the law because Board failed to give timely written notice of its intent not to renew her employment contract,” which is a violation of the Ohio Revised Code.
“I do not believe that they cannot renew her at this point based on the procedural steps that the Board took,” Laursen said. “They are required under the law at this point to renew her contract for two years. The statute provides for it. Essentially they hadn’t provided her notice that they were going to take action. They failed to live up to certain requirements in the law…When they don’t follow those rules, the law requires them to renew the contract. The general practice is you’re supposed to give notice at least 60 days before and they have to issue her a review by the superintendent, which they did. He didn’t just approve of her, he gave her a glowing review.”
Board members Jeff Cluxton, Robert Carpenter, Glenda Huff, Barry Sims, and Richard Applegate are all named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Applegate, board president, was not present at the meeting, and his resignation from the RULH Board of Education was approved later in the meeting.
No one has gone on the record of why Applegate resigned or why three board members voted not to renew Skinner’s contract.
“I have looked, trying to find a basis for why they failed to renew the contract and I don’t see it,” Laursen said. “When you look at Principal Skinner’s reviews from the superintendent, they glow. Things have been on the up and up since she became principal is my understanding.” The documentation from the lawsuit reviews several facts relative to the issue. The Board voted in favor of employing Skinner as the high school principal on August 6, 2010 and entered into a contract with Skinner where she would serve as principal from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. The Board, thereafter, voted to renew Skinner’s contract to employ her as high school principal from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2013.
The lawsuit also details actions of Superintendent Pat Kimble who, through his reviews, never indicated any performance issues with Skinner and in fact highly recommended her.
Kimble reviewed Skinner’s performance on Nov. 7, 2012. According to the lawsuit, in Kimble’s Evaluation of Administrator, 1st Evaluation — Progress Report, “he noted that of the seven standards reviewed, she achieved a distinguished rating on one standard, accomplished ratings on four standards, and proficient ratings on two standards.”
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Armour retiring as RULH Board Treasurer |
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Written by Carly Tamborski
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Wednesday, 30 January 2013 |
 Members of the RULH School District Board of Education are Glenda Huff, Barry Sims, Robert Carpenter, President Richard Applegate, and Vice President Jeff Cluxton.
During the Jan. 22 meeting, Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington Local School District Superintendent Pat Kimble presented each of the RULH board members with a certificate of appreciation from the Ohio School Boards Association for their dedication and work in making their schools better places for students to learn and better places for staff to work.
Members of the RULH School District Board of Education are Glenda Huff, Barry Sims, Robert Carpenter, President Richard Applegate, and Vice President Jeff Cluxton.
“Thank you Board Members for all that you do to support and promote our schools and our students,” said Karen Dunn in a press release informing the community about the meeting.
In other Board of Education news, Vivian Armour — who has served RULH schools for the whole of her 30-year career — will be retiring effective Jan. 31.
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ODNR employees are back in court |
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Written by Staff
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Wednesday, 14 March 2012 |
Five ODNR officials were back in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas this week for a pre-trial, stemming from charges filed in 2010. David Graham, Randy Miller, James Lehman, Michele Ward-Tackett and Todd Haines were each indicted on single counts of obstruction of justice and complicity to obstructing justice after an investigation into charges against former Brown County Wildlife Officer Allan Wright, who was charged with falsifying a hunting license so that South Carolina resident Eric Vaughn could obtain an Ohio hunting license.
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