Fifty attend meeting to support Goldsboro High School principal
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 22, 2016 10:00 AM
Wayne County Public Schools officials are saying little about Goldsboro High School Principal Robert Yelverton being placed on paid administrative leave this week, but announced late Monday that he will be back at work next week.
About 50 people showed up at Monday morning's called school board meeting in a show of support for Yelverton, questioning why he was "abruptly removed" and seeking more information.
Von Newsome, pastor of Impact Church, was the group's spokesperson, spearheading the grassroots effort on social media over the weekend.
"I'm his pastor," he said of Yelverton. "I learned of it through advice and counsel to him, reaching out for spiritual counsel for a stressful situation."
He explained that any action taken to remove Yelverton -- transferred to the school in March, from Northeast Elementary -- represented "yet another administrative change at GHS, which is a pattern of inconsistency of putting administrators and leaders in place."
Parents and leaders turned out in a peaceful protest of sorts, Newsome said.
"We know that it's the right of the board and the superintendent. We have no problem with that," he said. "We just want to know why.
"We're not certain of the (meeting) format. We wanted to show up in support of Mr. Yelverton and would like to know why the consideration has not been on the table."
The parameters around the called meeting, though -- for the purpose of signing off on the first round of school improvement plans submitted by each of the 31 schools -- are very strict.
"At a special called meeting, you can only meet on those agenda items," explained Ken Derksen, director of communication services for the district. "You can't add (items). Obviously you can take away but you cannot add.
"There's nothing on the agenda for public comment."
"We're not here to discuss personnel," Superintendent Michael Dunsmore said after the meeting.
Personnel issues are prickly, with privacy laws and such, officials have long maintained.
"While we understand people would like to know why he's placed on leave, personnel privacy prevents us from going on about anything more about his personal story," Derksen said.
Later in the day, his office released more information, saying that Yelverton had been placed on paid administrative leave on Friday afternoon, Nov. 18.
"The district can confirm that Mr. Yelverton's suspension is as a result of disciplinary action, and will remain in effect for the remainder of the week. He will be back at GHS on Monday," the release read.
The superintendent reportedly met with leadership staff of GHS on Monday to inform them of Yelverton's status, following up in the afternoon with the full staff.
"While we understand that many of our school communities would like to know the reasons why this administrative action has been taken, in accordance with N.C. personnel privacy laws the district can only confirm that they are as a result of a personnel matter," Dunsmore said. "We recognize that this administrative action will generate more speculation amongst the staff and students, so we wanted to meet with the staff to share as much as we legally could and to encourage all of them to help keep the focus in the classroom on teaching and learning as we move forward."
This is not the first time the school has grabbed the spotlight with administrative shifts. Yelverton is the fifth principal at the school since 2000, when Patricia Burden, now District 3 school board member, took the reins.
During her 10-year tenure at the school, declining test scores prompted Judge Howard Manning to threaten closure. Over the years, state and federal efforts have been enlisted to keep the struggling school open.
In 2009, John Twitty, retired military who was then-principal at Wayne Academy, was brought in to share principal duties with Ms. Burden. Two years later, Ms. Burden was reassigned to Twitty's former post at Wayne Academy, leaving him as sole administrator at GHS.
Tonya Faison was named principal in 2011, leaving two years later to work in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system. Brian Weeks took over the role in July 2013, before being reassigned, along with Yelverton, in February of this year. Weeks is now at Rosewood Middle.
Yelverton has 23 years education experience, eight of them in WCPS. He is also a graduate of GHS.
Newsome said his hope was that Yelverton would be given time to prove himself and succeed at the school.
"While we respect systems that are in place, we hold systems accountable," he said.
The school board stuck to the agenda, breaking only to go into closed session. When it reconvened nearly two hours later, there was no discussion and no acknowledgment of the contingent filling the board room.
Board comments centered around well wishes to the two departing members, Dwight Cannon and Eddie Radford, who will be replaced next month by recently elected Len Henderson and Raymond Smith Jr, respectively.