Cuts Smack Of Nepotism, Teachers Say

Hernando Today

SPRING HILL – As soon as the news hit that two out of three assistant principals at Explorer K-8 would not be coming back next year, the rumbling began.

The gist of the disquiet, according to stunned teachers: It’s more than a coincidence the lone assistant principal to keep her job there is Vivian Sweeney, the wife of school board member John Sweeney.

The other two assistant principals, Sue Roth and Dana Pearce, outshined Sweeney in their roles as administrators at the district’s newest school, teachers say. Pearce and Roth, teachers maintain, helped carry the 2,000-student school through its first year of growing pains exacerbated by overcrowding

All three assistant principals were in their first year in that role. School principal Dominick Ferello was in his first year as an administrator in Hernando and had never led a school that large in his career.

Ferello recommended Sweeney stay on and that Pearce and Roth go. Ferello is being reassigned to Westside Elementary School in Spring Hill.

“If a head had to be on the chopping block, the wrong AP was eliminated,” said one of half a dozen teachers interviewed by Hernando Today for this story.

“I was completely devastated, because those are the two people who have been the guiding force at the school,” another teacher said of Roth and Pearce.

Teachers paint a picture of Ferello as a brusque manager who dressed down teachers in the school hallways and clearly, as one teacher put it, “was in way over his head.” Sweeney, they say, was “aloof” and distant and “dropped the ball” on a few occasions.

But she’s the wife of the school board member known to be friendly with Superintendent Wayne Alexander, and so nepotism won out over merit and what was best for the school, teachers contend.

“This isn’t based on performance,” another teacher said. “This is based on who you like and the politics.”

That same refrain came from all of the teachers interviewed, though none would give their names citing fears of losing their own jobs.

“No one wants to get blackballed in the system,” one said.

Teachers also wonder whether the fact the Sweeneys have a child at Explorer had something to do with the decision to let Vivian Sweeney stay.

Alexander denies politics or favoritism were a factor in the decision not to reappoint Pearce and Roth – a decision made by Ferello and affirmed by Alexander.

Alexander said he trusts Ferello to give an appropriate recommendation based on performance. Everything else, he said, is “rumor and gossip” to which he won’t respond.

“Principals evaluate the performance of the assistant principals every minute of every day,” Alexander said. “Everyone has their right to their opinion on how they see events that occurred at the school.”

“There’s perception and there’s fact,” he said. “I deal with facts. I deal with performance. Your performance is measurable and observable.”

Evaluations of the administrators won’t be done until later this year, so there isn’t any documentation that explains why they were not reappointed.

Those evaluations will come in due time, Alexander said. But the district’s schedule for deciding reappointments requires principals to make decisions and recommendations to the superintendent earlier in the year.

When asked whether he would consider John Sweeney a friend, he replied: “That has nothing to do with the school’s performance.”

When asked why he moved Ferello, he said, “I think elementary school will be a better fit for him and his strengths.” He declined to say what he thought Ferello’s weaknesses are. Alexander’s evaluation of Ferello should shed more light on why he was reassigned after just one year.

Ferello on Friday declined to comment on his evaluations of his assistant principals, saying they would be made public record soon enough. When asked about favoritism, he said: “That’s not something that even needs to be commented on.”

He called himself “a fair guy.”

“Whenever you’re in leadership, there’s always a group that loves you, and a group that never likes you if you stand on your head,” Ferello said. “You have to expect that, especially when you’re in a smaller school district.”

Sweeney, Roth and Pearce did not return messages seeking comment for this story.

John Sweeney said rumors of favoritism are “to be expected” in a situation where a school board member is married to a district employee.

“You get into a public position, you have to have a thick skin,” he said.

But he called his wife “an excellent worker, an excellent employee and when there’s a job to get done, she does it.” He said he has “a working friendship” with Alexander and acknowledged the two play golf together occasionally.

“It’s not nefarious like people like to make it,” he said. “There’s nothing to hide.”

Glowing Reviews

Though there are no written evaluations for Roth, Pearce and Vivian Sweeney on their performance as assistant principals, their personnel files are packed with the glowing evaluations and reference letters that helped them get to Explorer.

All three women have masters of education degrees in educational leadership. The 49-year-old Roth’s educational experience dates back to 1994, when she started as a teacher at Deltona Elementary School. She remained there until being tapped for the Explorer post.

Sweeney, 48, held administrative assistant posts for the University of South Florida, and the Hillsborough County Attorney’s office before taking a full-time job in 2001 at Suncoast Elementary School. Before Explorer, she worked as a teacher at Fox Chapel Middle.

Pearce, 46, started as a kindergarten teacher in Virginia in 1985. She came on board in Hernando as a kindergarten and Title I lead teacher at Deltona, and before Explorer worked as a reading coach for the district.

All three earned high marks from evaluators during interviews for their assistant principal posts. Interviewers ranked them from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score, on qualities such as communication, decisiveness and critical thinking.

Sweeney and Roth had the largest number of 5’s on the sheet that denoted the consensus among the interviewers. But that potential didn’t necessarily translate to good leadership in Sweeney’s case, teachers said.

“People are afraid of her,” one teacher said. “People didn’t feel like they could go to her with a problem without feeling like they were putting their neck out.”

Teachers say Sweeney, who oversaw the middle school grades, failed to order instructional materials in a timely manner this year, a mistake that another assistant principal had to rectify. They said her door was often closed and she rarely attended after-school events.

Teachers also questioned Ferello’s ability to gauge a good administrator. Ferello, who most recently served as assistant principal of Sandpiper Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale, clearly had problems adjusting to the new school, they said, citing a recent incident in which Ferello gave out incorrect information on how grades are weighted at the school.

Ferello denied that, saying he was only clarifying the policy that has remained consistent.

The sentiments expressed to Hernando Today are widespread among the Explorer staff, Hernando Classroom Teachers Association President Joe Vitalo said.

“They feel like there’s a lot of favoritism going on, and there’s nothing they can do,” Vitalo said.

Former school board member Jim Malcolm, who has taken an active role in the development of the Quest gifted center there, met with teachers in October who complained about Ferello’s abrasive management style and inability to handle a school that large.

“I’ve never experienced the outpouring of anger, frustration and concern in the 16 years I’d been on the board,” Malcolm said.

On Thursday, he met with about two dozen teachers who wanted to talk about the loss of Roth and Pearce. The mood was the same, he said, though teachers expressed relief Ferello would be moving on.

Malcolm also questioned the practice of sending assistant principals packing after such a short time.

“If there are shortcomings, you should say, ‘Let’s work on them and set goals,'” he said.

Roth and Pearce will be replaced by the district’s professional development director Barbara Kidder and curriculum specialist Dianne Azzarelli. Taking over for Ferello is Ray Pinder, the current principal at Fox Chapel Middle School.

Pinder is among Vivian Sweeney’s former bosses who during an evaluation last year said she has “a good rapport with co-workers.” When asked if she had “any areas of weakness,” Pinder said no, and on a scale of 1 to 10, he gave her a 10.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or [email protected].