Updated: June 22, 2016, 10:51 a.m.
The Alachua County School Board voted to accept Superintendent Owen Roberts’ resignation yesterday despite loud opposition in the NAACP and the community.
Original story: Alachua County School Superintendent Owen Roberts, who’s got been under fire for a lot of weeks over allegations of?plagiarism,?announced his resignation from a letter Tuesday.
School Board Chair Eileen Roy confirmed Roberts’ resignation Tuesday but declined to elaborate.
Roberts’ resignation follows the current?evaluations?via the five School Board members that addressed?Roberts’ effectiveness in the last year. Inside evaluations, one member described Roberts’ performance as needing improvement.
“The plagiarism issue is only the latest and biggest negative issue after a year of negative issues,”?wrote School Board member Gunnar Paulson in his evaluation. “It’s not the example we’d like our students to check out.”
School Board member Leanetta McNealy said?one can find terms inside the superintendent’s contract that board members can reference for termination.
“There are a few clauses in there that you might want to become careful with that the board know, a result of the immorality, meaning they’re thinking about the book,” she said.
But McNealy said?this situation is approximately more than the publication.
Juliun Kinsey, a canadite for Alachua County School Board District 2, said?Roberts’ great ought not to be overlooked.
“Certainly his work additionally, the points that she has done low-cost he could be changing the lives of students, and we’re getting closer and closer toward the entire goal of every child’s success certainly warrants his job,” he explained.
A School Board meeting is scheduled for tonight at 6 p.m. to discuss?the?board’s evaluations. Roberts’ resignation is beneficial 20 weeks on the School Board’s acceptance of his letter.
For days gone by 2 months, Roberts has faced criticism for improper citations in?his self-published book, “A Framework for Improving School System nowadays,” that is certainly?purported to contain paragraphs copied verbatim business scholarly works and, often, reportedly?fails?to cite an author’s original work. Roberts?apologized in a May 3 School Board meeting.
School Board member April Griffin recently?pushed for Roberts’ resignation, saying she believes the superintendent’s actions have damaged the district’s reputation.
“I honestly don’t believe that she are able to repair the injury which was done,” Griffin said.
The NAACP held a?meeting Monday?at Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church, 1945 NE 8th Ave., and just Roberts, that was not present. Supporters said?these were?outraged on Roberts’ behalf and believed sixty about race – not Roberts’ citation mistakes.
School board members, including?Leanetta McNealy, however, rated?Roberts’ performance as?”highly satisfactory.”
“Because of his impeccable leadership, were headed inside the right direction,” McNealy wrote.?”I have gotten some anxiety about concluding, howevere, if I do think and collect my faith, I know that there are going to be a way to have a 3-2 vote (against accepting the evaluations),” McNealy said Monday.
A?special meeting was scheduled for?June 27 to debate Roberts’ contract.
“If a person looks along at the (negative) evaluations, it is really personal things. Everything that he’s got got down to do, he has got accomplished it,” said Evelyn Foxx, president of Alachua County Branch of the NAACP.
The evaluations included criticism of the superintendent’s?changes to our policy and hiring decisions made despite advice from school board members.
Foxx said the NAACP?together with other?community leaders prefer to make an appearance in numbers for the school board meeting Tuesday to show their support for Roberts.
