Sparta High teachers support Bevere

Sparta — The Sparta Board of Education meeting Monday, Nov. 26 resembled a teachers’ convention. A standing-room-only crowd, made up mostly of Sparta High School’s tenured teachers, showed up to demonstrate their solidarity behind Acting Principal, James Bevere. The bottom line: they want the “acting” off his title and they want him named the official principal of Sparta High School. Since his appointment as acting principal in the wake of former Principal Rich Lio’s departure, Bevere has been the subject of controversy between the board and Superintendent Dr. Thomas Morton. The board has shown clear support for Bevere as the top candidate for the position but Morton has said he is not ready to recommend him. The board cannot act on an administrative hire without an official recommendation from the superintendent. Morton said he has officially recommended Bevere be named “acting principal” for the remainder of the year. “A larger pool of candidates could be sought in the spring, in which Bevere could be a front-runner based on his year of service.” At Monday’s meeting, board member Dr. Michael Schill attempted to bring forth a resolution stating, “The Sparta Board of Education respectfully asks Dr. Morton to recommend James Bevere as the Sparta High School Principal.” Board President Michael Schiavoni asked the board’s legal counsel to advise them on the resolution because he wanted to make sure it remained in the “oversight role” of the board’s purview and was not “over-stepping” their responsibilities. Attorney Jim Fox said the resolution was “ill advised” because it could be viewed as attempting to compromise Morton’s “vested authority” in the matter. Schill dropped the resolution. However, the high school teachers presented a formal request to the board and the superintendent, read by English teacher, Jenna Valleau, which stated, “As we are all aware, during the past several months, Sparta High School has gone through an unprecedented administrative transition. With the current short-handed administrative team of Jim Bevere, Cathy Goodwin, Stan Abromavage, and Pat Shea, it has gone smoothly and in a positive direction. A level of consistency and accountability has finally been restored in regard to both staff expectations and student discipline. Teachers are now assured of consistent administrative support in respect to school-wide issues.” Valleau added, “As the educational professionals of Sparta High School, we request that Dr. Morton recommend and the Board of Education appoint Mr. Jim Bevere as principal of Sparta High School.” The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. Valleau stated that 96 percent of the high school’s tenured staff, or 77 out of 80 teachers endorsed the request to appoint Bevere. A citizen raised a question regarding the total of 66 candidates officials have said applied for the principal’s position. She wondered why none were interviewed. Board Vice President Rich Sullivan said there were some interviews granted, but the candidates did not go any further than a first interview. Morton said he wanted to recommend someone to the board, but members of the executive portion of the district’s new administrative staffing committee did not approve the person to be brought to the board. The citizen commented that it seems “the process is not working.” She said, “There should be full pool of competitive candidates to compare with Bevere to allow him — if he is the right choice — to win the position.” Sullivan said the superintendent’s account was “not accurate” and that no one had been recommended to the board. Morton said, “There was definitely someone I wanted to interview. For the Helen Morgan principal’s position, I recommended someone, the committee accepted, and the board approved. For the high school position, I could have recommended as many as three people, but the committee has not accepted, so they have not come before the board.” Resident Dorothy LeBeau asked the board, “Does Dr. Morton have the ability to set up an interview with a candidate if he wants to?” Schiavoni responded, “Yes.” Citizen and former teacher, Phil Serrani asked Morton why he would not recommend Bevere and Morton responded he had no comment for Serrani. High school teachers Gene Mendes and Gary Larson also spoke up in favor of Bevere. Mendes called the team of Bevere and Goodwin, “a breath of fresh air”, and Larson said Bevere has “done well under difficult circumstances.” Reached for comment Tuesday morning, Bevere said of the support from teachers at the meeting, he said “It was overwhelming. It was so heart warming to know they support what I’m doing. I really appreciated that they gave up their time to come out and support me.” As to not being recommended by Dr. Morton, Bevere said, “Dr. Morton is very capable and he knows what he’s doing. Ultimately, he’s responsible for this decision and I think he wants to be sure he makes the right one. I’m sure he wants to make a thorough search before he commits.