WATERVILLE — The Waterville Board of Education late Wednesday abruptly halted deliberations to decide whether to dismiss Waterville Senior High School Principal Don Reiter, who is accused of asking a female student for sex.
About 8:39 p.m., after more than seven hours of testimony and discussions, mostly in executive session, board members left the George J. Mitchell School.
“They have suspended deliberations until 5 p.m. Monday,” Superintendent Eric Haley said after leaving the building.
Also outside, Reiter’s attorney, Gregg Frame, told reporters that board members needed more time to deliberate on the charge. He said no more witnesses would be called. Asked how Reiter was feeling, Frame said: “Frustrated, obviously. He wants it to be over; he wants to be back in school.”
It was a long and confusing day for the more than 125 people, including high school teachers and staff, students, area residents and local lawyers who turned out Wednesday to watch the proceedings, which Reiter had requested be held in public.
Because of state and federal laws prohibiting that information about students be revealed, most of the hearing was held in executive session, however.
Reiter, 44, of Mount Vernon, an eight-year principal, was placed on administrative leave with pay Sept. 1 by Superintendent Eric Haley.
Haley a few weeks ago recommended to the school board that Reiter be dismissed from his job. Until Tuesday night, the allegations against him were kept quiet.
Haley and Assistant Superintendent Peter Thiboutot conducted a school investigation into the allegations and Haley also reported the case to police, who conducted a separate investigation and forwarded their report in the case to the district attorney’s office. District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said she will wait until after the hearing is complete to make a decision about what she will do.
Melissa Hewey, the school department lawyer, said Tuesday that Haley recommends Reiter be terminated from his job for inappropriate conduct with a student for asking the student in his office to have sex with him.
Reiter and his attorney, Frame, deny the allegations. Tuesday night, Frame told the board that Reiter is an excellent principal who has the support of his staff and an unblemished reputation.
“Sometimes even the best of us get it wrong, and Eric’s decision or recommendation for you to terminate is dead wrong,” Frame said.
Reiter’s wife, Terri, filed for divorce two weeks after he was placed on paid administrative leave Sept. 1. Frame said she is on his list of witnesses to testify in support of Reiter, but he was not sure if she would testify.
High school sophomores Holly Madore and Coby Dangler, both 15, were sitting Wednesday in the front row, waiting to hear testimony. They also had attended Tuesday’s session.
They said the atmosphere in the school is unsettling because of the case.
“It’s kind of depressing, because I think he’s a good guy,” Dangler said of Reiter.
Madore said the teachers at the school have been trying to keep the case “hush hush.”
“In a way, I hope he comes back,” she said of Reiter, “but after hearing that story, it’s kind of creepy.”
On Tuesday, lawyers for both sides gave opening statements at the start of the 6 p.m. hearing and the board went into executive session in the school library for about three and a half hours. Members emerged from that session just after 10 p.m. and left the building without returning to their seats in the school gymnasium.
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