Sadie Vernon Technical High School, an institution created in 1964, is no stranger to controversy, having been embroiled in public quarrels between its teachers and the school’s administration for the last four years.
On Friday, February 18, the entire student body of 293 students was sent home amid controversy over the dismissal of two teachers from the Government co-ed school the day before.
Today, the Belize National Teachers’ Union (BNTU) called on the Sadie Vernon board, which sanctioned the firings, to resign.
At a press conference on Friday, February 18, teachers boldly decried the firings, but principal Laura Baptist has refused to comment to the media.
Friday’s events are reported in the story titled, “Sadie Vernon teachers protest the firing of two of their own”, published on page 4 of this issue of Amandala.
Darrell Humes, president of the Parent Teachers Association, who supports the firings, complained that teachers have been absent from school too frequently.
At present, there are twenty-three teachers on staff. Humes said that in the month of August, there were 6 absences; September, 43; October, 17; November, 44; and December, 21—amounting to a total of 131 teacher absences so far in the school year.
How do the teachers respond to the allegations? Kendis Ferguson, Social Studies teacher as well as the interim teacher representative on the board, said they would not get into a debate with Humes. He claimed that neither he nor his coworkers racked up the number of absences that Humes has alleged.
Humes also claimed that the teachers are planning to boycott classes on Wednesday, but Ferguson says there is no truth to that report.
The teachers maintain that they are not picking a personal fight with the principal, Laura Baptist. They insist that their main concern is that due process had not been followed before the dismissals. They say that they are being misunderstood by the board and the administration, and they highlight the need for an agreement to be reached between the different parties.
Late this evening, the BNTU’s Council of Management issued a statement, calling out the school’s board. It said, “…the school board has failed in carrying out its duties, as stipulated in the Handbook of Policies and Procedures,” and called for the resignation of the board members “to give way for a new board to be constituted.”
The BNTU release said that the issues at the school had been affecting the delivery of education in the institution for the past four years, and that the matter needs to be addressed “once and for all.”
Over the weekend, the board met with the teachers. In a press release sent out this morning, the board condemned Friday’s press conference by teachers, referring to it as disrespectful—an act which, they said, was carried out without proper authorization.
Neither teachers nor administration would call the names of the dismissed persons. Whereas the teachers would not disclose the reason for the dismissals, the board provided an explanation.
The board said that in reference to the first teacher, a female, it had received a formal complaint from a parent, requesting intervention. The board insists that it did follow due process by giving the accused teacher an opportunity to appear before an ad hoc committee of the board.
“The committee was chaired by the chairlady of the board [Denise Neal] and was given the task of meticulously collecting the facts of the allegation and then presenting them to the board for their deliberation and decision. During the process involved, the teacher was given the opportunity to appear before the board, whereby the allegations were formally presented to her,” stated the board.
The board went on to say that the teacher was represented by her attorney and a representative of the BNTU, and that at no time was the teacher’s rights violated.
In regard to the second teacher who was dismissed, a male, the board said that the teacher had failed to satisfy the conditions of his initial period of probation. Amandala understands that this teacher had been given an extension to make improvements in his performance; however, the board contends that he not only failed to fulfill those conditions, but that he committed further infractions that violated school polices.
Neal, the board’s chair, said the problems at Sadie Vernon existed before she became the chairlady.
As to the reason students were sent home on Friday, she said that they were left unattended in their classrooms while the teachers held their press conference.
She also said that students were being videotaped without permission from the school, which, said Neal, goes against protocol.
“These are minors,” she explained, “and should not be used. There was no way we would have allowed the students to be sitting around and not being taught and being filmed,” said Neal.
The teachers argued that at no time were the students left unattended, and that they had given them class assignments.
Word out of the Ministry of Education is that they will not intervene in the dismissals. However, if the situation escalates, the ministry would exercise its advisory capacity on the matter.
We were unable to speak with the Minister of Education Patrick Faber on the matter, because we were told he was busy outside the office.