An informal hearing on a decision by the Haines Borough school board to not renew the contract of kindergarten teacher Sue Ackerman took on the tenor of a court hearing Tuesday, with a union representative and the school district attorney offering conflicting accounts of Ackerman’s performance.
The board unanimously reaffirmed its decision. Board member Sarah Swinton was absent.
Debbie Omstead, a representative for the state teachers’ union, said the district had violated state statutes, board policy and board bylaws in making the decision. “Most disturbing” was the district’s “lack of empathy” and a timeline of events that included the district advertising the job open before Ackerman received a letter of non-retention, Omstead said.
However, the district notified Ackerman personally Jan. 15, before advertising the job.
School district attorney John Sedor said that the district had “virtually unlimited discretion” in making a non-retention decision on a first-year teacher like Ackerman, but provided a letter April 11 explaining its reasons at Ackerman’s request.
It included “deficient performance in classroom management,” including that Ackerman: didn’t implement a districtwide behavior policy until April, didn’t provide appropriate classroom management, didn’t appropriately address student behavior, and didn’t satisfactorily improve despite extra support provided by the district.
“No other teacher in the district received as much support as you,” interim superintendent Rich Carlson wrote in the letter. “These supports proved unsuccessful and, further, are unsustainable in a school of our size.”
Sedor characterized the alleged policy and statutory violations as procedural lapses that were not substantive.
The board made its decision following an executive session. After the hearing, Ackerman said she wasn’t sure what her next move would be. “I wish there was some acknowledgment that things weren’t handled the best. That was a little disappointing that there was no acknowledgment.”
Ackerman said she wasn’t expecting the board to reverse its decision, but the hearing was important because “it was about the process and understanding the whole process behind it, and to take a stand because so many people have told me so many stories about the district and especially about not being supportive.”
In a post-meeting interview, school board chair Anne Marie Palmieri said the district’s expectations for Ackerman were “reasonable and consistent” with standards for other staff and that the district continued working with Ackerman after her Jan. 15 notice.
Palmieri was asked if she felt the district dealt with Ackerman fairly. “As you look back in hindsight on any situation, there are always ways you can improve. This is one of those situations we will learn from.”
Providing support for new teachers has been a topic of discussion at the district for years, Palmieri said. Said board member Sara Chapell: “When there’s just one teacher for each grade, we have to make sure that teacher is the best we can have, because that teacher is in charge of 100 percent of the students. That’s their job.”
Ackerman has filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said this week that was based on her request for more time between her evaluations, based on the fact that she came off maternity leave in January. “I feel like I didn’t have time. I wanted more time and another observation.”