Split Sullivan West board appeals appointment

By SARAH KOENIG

JEFFERSONVILLE — Four members of the Sullivan West school board—Rick Lander, Donna Sauer-Jones, K.C. Garn and Rick Sandler—have filed an appeal with the commissioner of the New York State Department of Education to overturn the appointment of Margie Tenbus as principal of the new Sullivan West High School.

According to Sandler, the basis for the appeal was that the board disregarded the recommendation of Superintendent of Schools Michael Johndrow, who did not support the appointment of Tenbus.

Sandler said that even though the education law is “ambiguous,” Johndrow’s contract gives him the authority to “appoint or reassign.” The appeals asks for a stay of the appointment until a ruling can be obtained from the commissioner.

“It just occurred to us that perhaps the board wasn’t acting in a proper manner and it might not have had the authority to make the transfer without the superintendent’s recommendation,” Sandler said. “We rely on the superintendent to make educational decision, and his advice should have been taken. There’s nobody on that board that has as much educational experience, and when you’re making an educational decision you have to respect the opinion of the expert,” he said.

Sandler and Sauer-Jones also stressed that their action represented no ill feelings towards any individual on the board.

“Our action wasn’t meant as anything personal,” Sandler said. “This [appeal] is just asking the commissioner for a ruling on a decision. It’s nine different people with nine different opinions.”

“I guess the four of us just decided to appeal it because we wanted to see what the commissioners’ ruling was going to be on whether or not the school board can override the superintendent,” Sauer-Jones said.

Johndrow agrees. “The appeal is asking for a clarification of education law,” he said, “and it seems to be an area that hasn’t been addressed. Typically, administrators make all appointments. And here’s a case where that’s not so, and some of the board members would like to know why.”

Whatever the ruling of the commissioner may be, it will be a little while before it is handed down.

Bill Hirschen, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Education, could not comment directly on the case because it is still ongoing. “The litigation process takes about two months. The school board will also have an opportunity to respond. The appellants will have an opportunity to respond to the response. A memorandum of law will be submitted. Then all these papers, the memorandum, the original appeal, the response, the response to the response to the original appeal… All these things go to legal research and the information is submitted to the commissioner for review and he will make a ruling.”

David Shaw, the school attorney, who agreed to represent the remaining five board members, believes that some measure of resolution should come far more quickly.

“Ordinarily,” he said, “the commissioner will act on a stay request within a few weeks. That should be the next step in the legal battle. The resolution [Tenbus’ appointment] was appropriate and did not violate any of the state education laws,” he said.