Tuscan School principal and BOE

mikescott said:
I can't imagine any Super or any BOE member discussing the performance of a principal or a teacher in public or giving all the reasons why a decision was made.  If you don't agree with the super's decisions, it also means you do not agree with a majority of the BOE.   And in that case your best course of action is to vote for new BOE members.  However, as I said before, for those of us on the outside, the decisions made by the BOE and prior supers as well as this one are often baffling to many and that is because they can not share all the information.  
Sometimes you just have to read between the lines and trust that most of the BOE members have the best interest of the schools and kids in mind when making those decisions.  

 I believe it was made public in this case at the request of the principal.

Sounded like they gave the most recent reason, not an overall performance review.  

In any case, I am going to guess we have the minimal amount of information or facts and really not in a position to make an informed decision  

Ed1977 said:

annielou said:
I’m thinking this principal was scapegoated

Insubordination is one thing, putting the children at risk is another. I talk to my boss like she did, I'm out the door.

The Superintendent never said the principal put children at risk. She was following previously established written procedures.  He was pissed that she was rude to him.

I'm not a fan of Majeed, her run-ins with parents over the years have been well documented.  However, Ficarra is a jack@ss and is on a power trip. 

mikescott said:
Sounded like they gave the most recent reason, not an overall performance review.  
In any case, I am going to guess we have the minimal amount of information or facts and really not in a position to make an informed decision  

 This ^^^

Also, Ficarra was brought in here as interim to “clean up” things. I’m sure this includes personnel. I have zero personal experience with Majeed (or ficarra for that matter) but the word on the street is that most parents can’t stand Majeed and haven’t for years and years. I also hear that there has been a history of insubordination (teachers and administrators) within the district that’s gone unchecked. Maybe it’s the end of the line for both these things. One can only guess...

I dont have a dog in this fight since my kids are out of school now, so I will just list my opinion on some points made on this topic.

1)  Refusing to take a conference call from your boss is insubordination.

2)  Majeed has had problems with parents, staff, BOE members and supers since she became principal at Tuscan School.

3)  Setting up an early dismissal procedure the day of a snow fall is poor planning. 

4)  Not suspending her earlier for some of her (well documented) incidents was a mistake on the district's part.  

5)  If anyone here is on a power trip it is Majeed.  She has continuously ignored the policies and procedures of the district.  She feels she is above everyone else and her ways are always better.  

6)  While she may be tenured, she is not exempt from being terminated.  There are just so many times you can be insubordinate without consequences.

I have never dealt with Ficarra so I dont really have an opinion of him.

She refused to attend a call to discuss immediate direction on an imminent and evolving emergency event from her boss, and carried on with her own procedures.  Whether they were or existing or not is irrelevant.  Whether they should have been in place prior is also irrelevant.  Whether it all worked out in the end was also irrelevant.  They were being changed right then.  And she ignored both those and her superior who was delivering them— the only one in the district who did so. 

I’ve not been a fan of many of Ficarra’s moves, nor the frequent capitulation of the BOE to him, but in this scenario he sent a message loud and clear to her, to the BOE, and hopefully to the incoming super via the BOE. 

“They were being changed right then”. Really? I have no skin in the game either but that is so not how to handle emergencies. 

annielou said:
“They were being changed right then”. Really? I have no skin in the game either but that is so not how to handle emergencies. 

Frankly, that could have made things more dangerous.

Again, I'm not a fan of Majeed.  We can argue about whether it was insubordination.  

However, Ficarra's refusal to take responsibility for the fact he did nothing to update the emergency procedures after the previous storm is unacceptable.  Good riddance when he finally leaves.