Saturday, April 08, 2017

Pittsburg USD 250 board to revise hiring procedures, thanks Booster Redux reporters

The reverberations of the discovery that newly-hired Pittsburg High School Principal Amy Robertson was a fraud continue.

Superintendent Destry Brown and the Board of Education have come under considerable fire and have been scrambling to regain their footing since Robertson's resignation was announced Tuesday night at a special board meeting.

The district issued the following news release Friday:

The USD 250 Board of Education is committed to the educational excellence and integrity of this district. In support of this commitment, the board will review the hiring procedures currently utilized by the district. Questions surrounding the credentials of Pittsburg High School Principal Amy Robertson, and her subsequent resignation, have prompted us to review these procedures.

USD 250 policy requires teachers and administrators to hold degrees from accredited institutions of higher learning. It also requires candidates to possess or be able to quickly acquire appropriate licensure from the State of Kansas. The board relies upon the recommendations from district administrators when approving hires. However, the final responsibility for every hire rests with the board. It’s clear now, in this instance, our process failed. We are actively reviewing our procedures, including oversight by district administrators, to determine the changes needed to ensure this does not happen again.

We will continue to review the hiring process over the coming weeks.

We thank the students of The Booster Redux for the role they played in bringing this situation to light. We admire both their original reporting and the manner in which they have handled the national attention their story has earned. Their hard work and the supportive nature of the program reaffirm our district’s vision of inspiring all students to achieve excellence.

Sincerely,

USD 250 Board of Education


Al Mendez, President

John Clark, Vice President

Rusty Akins, Member

Mindy Cloninger, Member

Rich Ellis, Member

B.J. Harris, Member

Marlene Willis, Member

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