ROCKLAND, Maine — The Rockland area school superintendent said the Oceanside High School East principal has his full support in the wake of a letter of no confidence filed by the teachers.
The 23 teachers who signed the letter last week said they are not able to work with Principal Renee Thompson.
Thompson was hired as principal of Oceanside East in July 2014, succeeding Principal Tom Forti. She had been principal of Ellsworth High School for the previous five years.
Thompson was not available for comment Monday or Tuesday, saying she was preparing for Tuesday night’s graduation.
Superintendent John McDonald said Tuesday, however, that Thompson has his support.
“Renee was brought in as a change agent,” McDonald said.
The superintendent said change often can be uncomfortable for teachers. The high school has one of the highest dropout rates in the state and students from lower income families are not being served the way they should be, he said.
“I have the utmost support for Renee. She is a strong leader with an intimate knowledge of curriculum,” McDonald said.
In their letters, the teachers said Thompson lacks clear communication skills and does not, in turn, accurately reflect the sentiments of the staff when she meets with the district administration. The teachers state in the letter that they need a principal who values the input of faculty.
“Furthermore, Mrs. Thompson has made threatening remarks when the expressed views of faculty are in opposition to her strategies for implementing proficiency-based education,” the letter states.
Individual and group meetings with the principal have largely been unproductive and hostile, the teachers contend.
“Given the negative school climate created by Mrs. Thompson’s disingenuous leadership style, disregard for faculty input, and the failure to advocate on behalf of faculty and students, we are issuing a vote of no confidence,” the letter concludes.
McDonald said when he read the letter, he could not recognize it was the principal he knows Thompson is.
RSU 13 Board Chairman Steve Roberts said Tuesday that the board implemented a policy for when staff have concerns about treatment from a supervisor and this was not followed by those teachers. He said they should have gone directly to McDonald with their concerns.
The superintendent said up until a few days before the letter arrived last week, he had no knowledge that teachers had concerns about the principal. The letter was sent to McDonald and the board.
The RSU 13 web site lists 34 teachers in the staff directory at Oceanside East.
In November 2013, teachers throughout the district issued a letter of no confidence in then Superintendent Lew Collins. He resigned a few months later, saying he no longer had the confidence of the full board.
Thompson has a year left on her contract.