|
At the insistence of five members, Cape Henlopen school board President Gary Wray has scheduled a special meeting regarding personnel to be held 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 6 at the district office located on Savannah Road.
The members say they have eagerly awaited the meeting since Cape’s business director filed a complaint against its superintendent on Nov. 20 and requested a formal hearing.
“Ed Seibert has no complaint,” board President Gary Wray said Monday, Dec. 3, regarding the request for a complaint hearing that Director of Business Operations Edward Seibert filed against school Superintendent George Stone Nov. 20. Wray refused to identify any topic that may be addressed during the Dec. 6 meeting, adding only that it regards personnel.
“Dr. Seibert’s complaint against Dr. Stone will be addressed,” said board Vice President Stell Selby on Monday, Dec. 3. “It is the biggest issue facing us right now and the board must review it.”
Board member Noble Prettyman said he hopes the complaint will be addressed. But he says he’s not certain what will happen. “The agenda simply says personnel issues,” he said.
Differences grow
In a Monday, Nov. 26 interview, Wray said information and request for a hearing were premature. He said his position was premised upon a statement by one of the district’s attorneys, David Williams, who said the board had to follow its policy. That same day he sent an email to board members telling them they could discuss the matter in executive session at the regularly scheduled Dec. 13 meeting
Three board members - Selby, Camilla Conlon and Prettyman - immediately joined to say that in their opinion board policy had been followed and a meeting should be held as soon as possible on Seibert’s complaint. The complaint alleged that Stone retaliated against Seibert for making disclosures of public information and harassed him to prevent him from Seibert
Continued from page 8
completing the preliminary budget for this school year. Conlon said she informed Wray of the board members’ positions by telephone Monday evening, Nov. 26.
Despite the position of the other board members, Wray delivered a letter to Seibert the next morning, dated Nov. 27, stating that Seibert had not complied with board policy. “On advice of our district attorney, he recommends that we follow our district policy No. 326 Complaint Policy,” Wray wrote. He followed with various excerpts from the policy and concluded that Seibert had to present Stone a copy of the complaint in specific format before the timelines specified in No. 326 would become operative. Wray signed the letter in his own name and copied it to all board members.
In subsequent interviews all board members said they were not aware of Wray’s letter or its contents prior to its delivery.
After learning of the letter, board members Pete Coveleski and Spencer Brittingham joined Selby, Prettyman and Conlon, forming a solid majority in favor of hearing Seibert’s complaint.
“It seems like Gary’s [Wray] being a one-man show again,” Prettyman said during an interview Tuesday, Nov. 27.
“Dr. Seibert has asked for our help. Hear me, hear my voice, I am leaving and I am trying to do a good job to the end – that’s what he has said to us. He has followed the rules and he has done his job well. We owe him the courtesy of hearing him,” Prettyman said.
That same evening Coveleski said it just made sense that the board would be the entity to hear Seibert’s complaint. Seibert’s only supervisor is Stone and the only entity above Stone is the board – therefore the attempt to resolve the matter with Stone was the required effort to resolve it at the lowest level and in the most informal manner, he said.
“This just needs to go before the board. We need to hear it and resolve it,” Coveleski said.
“Dr. Wray’s letter is not an official letter made with the endorsement of the board. It shouldn’t be treated any differently than any letter from any private citizen,” Brittingham said during an interview Wednesday, Nov. 28. “Ed Seibert is right in pursuing his complaint to the next level, and that is the board.”
Brittingham added that he had been asking for an immediate meeting regarding Seibert’s complaint since Nov. 23.
On Nov. 28 Selby demanded the board take action and meet, writing in an email, “I have had it! . . . Dr. Seibert has a right to this and I feel that WE, as a board need to step to the plate so WE can make some decisions and move on.” Selby continued by criticizing Wray’s leadership of the board, especially his taking of unilateral action without board knowledge or approval. “You do not speak for any of us without informing us, i.e. your recent personal letter to Dr. Seibert and other past and present secrets.”
The following day Wray contacted board members and agreed to post the Dec. 6 meeting.
Contact Georgia Leonhart at g.l.leonhart@comcast.net
|
