Letter to the editor: Scarborough school board complicit in unjust ouster of principal

Supporting a recall of three Scarborough Board of Education members (Donna Beeley, Cari Lyford and Jodi Shea) was not an easy decision, and one I thought about long and hard before I agreed to help facilitate this initiative. Our youngest child graduates from high school this spring, so the last thing I expected was to be embroiled in school district politics.

I am involved because an incredible high school principal, David Creech, was forced to resign for no substantive reason.

I am involved because teachers I respect reached out to me the day the resignation occurred, asking for my help.

I am involved because the Scarborough school system has been an integral part of the successes that both of our children have had and of the futures they both seek.

I am involved because I want those students who follow to have the same opportunity, and the proficiency-based education movement is a monumental threat to that opportunity.

I am involved because I have been a teacher in another district for 26 years and empathize with the stifled voice of our Scarborough educators.

The Scarborough Board of Education refuses to acknowledge that Principal Creech was wrongfully forced to resign or address it through their supervisory responsibilities over the superintendent. The Scarborough Board of Education chose to hire a first-time superintendent (Julie Kukenberger), who, in less than two years, has cultivated a toxic school community.

The three members up for recall have been intractable in their refusal to address these concerns. On May 8, I will vote “yes” to recall, and on June 12 I will vote “yes” on the school budget. Please join me.

Amy Glidden

Scarborough