Communication an ongoing issue for Greencastle Schools

The academic year began with concerns over how mold problems at Tzouanakis Intermediate School were communicated to parents.

It's now almost January and communication breakdowns still seems to be plaguing administration at Greencastle Community Schools.

In a recent meeting that was dominated by public comments regarding the sudden reassignment of Tzouanakis Principal Jon Strube to a post at Central Office, two other areas of serious concern were also brought forward by citizens.

One was the handling of a threat early this month by a Greencastle Middle School student, while the other is the suspension of a GMS physical education teacher and GHS track and cross country coach.

In all three cases, communication, or the perceived lack thereof, is one of the main concerns.

The threat issue was brought forward by Mary Duncan, the parent of a seventh-grade student, who said it was her son who notified her of the issue instead of the school.

The threat itself was made shortly before dismissal on Thursday, Dec. 13, when the unidentified student made a verbal threat to two other students that included the phrase "shoot up the school."

"I am seriously concerned about the fact that my son was one of the kids who was specifically threatened," Duncan said. "At this point, it was 7 p.m. and I had heard nothing from the school."

Duncan said she heard nothing from the school until the next morning, when Superintendent Jeff Hubble emailed all parents in the district. She went on to say that it took four days for her to be officially notified that her son was one of the kids specifically threatened.

Duncan contrasted this to her son saying "this sucks" in class and her finding out in five minutes. She asked what the protocol is for notifying parents in such situations.

Hubble explained that an assessment is conducted in such situations. In this specific incident, it was decided that the student made "inappropriate comments" and he was suspended, pending expulsion. The next morning, the superintendent continued, administrators determined they should make an announcement that there had been a threat and it had been handled.

"But that was done the following morning," Duncan replied. "My student's life was threatened that afternoon and I wasn't notified."

The other issue brought up was the suspension of GMS PE teacher and GHS track and cross country coach Craig Jordan.

The questions about Jordan were posed by Chad Wilson, father of five-time state champion Emma Wilson, who has announced she will forgo her senior track season at GHS over the treatment of Jordan.

Both at the meeting and in online posts, Chad Wilson has spoken of harassment of Jordan that he believes is racially motivated.

While school officials have repeatedly said they believe that the steps taken in the Jordan case were warranted, they have offered no argument as to why.

In this case, as in the Strube case and even the threat, administrators and board members are bound by law about what they can say.

Administrators are not at liberty to discuss personnel matters publicly.

"Please understand that we legally cannot enter into discussion about any personnel issues," board President Mike White said before public comments began. "We are not being evasive, it is something that we legally cannot enter into discussion."

Similar guidelines often apply to safety procedures.

"It is not typical that school corporations share the entire plans because that would give a shooter an advantage," Hubble said.

"We always have the secret or non-transparent card thrown at us when there are things we can't talk about," White said. "It's not that we don't want to say things, it's that we can't."

All the same, the meeting contained examples of board members wanting to find avenues for better communication.

When told that teachers feel unsafe to express their opinions about issues such as the Strube situation, board member Brian Cox said this is not acceptable.

"People should feel safe to say, 'I don't agree with how this is going,'" Cox said. "We may not agree, but they need to be safe to express that."

On the subject of transparency, White made a public plea with Hubble to improve transparency on the GCSC website. The board and administration have come under scrutiny for their use of "work sessions," which are public meetings the board holds outside of its regular monthly sessions.

White wants to see the purpose of work sessions more clearly communicated.

"If we could see that it starts hitting the website as soon as something gets scheduled, that would be great," White told Hubble.

In other business:

* The board approved a number of personnel items, including:

Resignations: Angela Weeks as GHS girls' soccer coach; Nancy Brock as substitute bus driver; Melinda Short as GMS instructional assistant; Debra Sabin as Central Office receptionist.

New hires: Emily Dickey as long-term substitute teacher for Elizabeth Zuver (maternity leave) at Tzouanakis; Toni Connell as nurse assistant at Tzouanakis; Mandy Evans as GMS instructional assistant; Ana Salcedo as 21st Century Community Learning Center instructional assistant at GMS; Alyssa Ball as McAnally custodian.

Substitute hires: Deborah McKee, Abigail Stayte, Chelseay Anderson, Jessica Roberts, Brooke Richardson, Jonna Mace and Drew Brothers as substitute teachers; Jessica Mitchell as part-time substitute secretary for Lori Lamb (leave of absence) at GMS.

Extra-curriculars: Ian Pingleton hired as GMS wrestling coach; Bradley Rumley hired as GMS assistant wrestling coach; Tabatha Briones approved as eighth-grade girls' basketball coach; Samantha Call hired as seventh-grade girls' basketball coach; Kyle Ames and Corina Barantas approved as volunteer assistant seventh/eighth-grade girls' basketball coaches; Phoebe Prado and Drew Asbell approved as volunteer assistant seventh/eighth-grade boys' basketball coaches; John Pasch approved as GHS volunteer assistant football coach; Amy Howard approved to chair special education department.

* Hubble announced that six offers had been made on the old bus barn location on North Vine Street.

"It's kind of exciting," Hubble said. "As negotiations are still under way, I can't say anything but it's good to know there are six people out there interested in buying."