EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the last of eight articles about the termination hearing and ultimate firing of Jann Gibson, principal of Cutter Morning Star Elementary School. The Cutter Morning Star School District held the hearing from 5 p.m. Dec. 15 to almost 1:20 a.m. Dec. 16. Board members voted at the end of the hearing to fire Gibson.
Last week's termination hearing and subsequent firing of former Cutter Morning Star principal Jann Gibson represents a pivotal shift for a school and community previously fractured to two distinct sides with significantly different opinions.
Multiple employees who willingly spoke out and contradicted their superintendent are now left to work under the same administration, without the principal they supported and under a school board that accepted the claims of the administration over a number of employees who claimed otherwise.
The work environment within the district caused a growing number of Cutter Morning Star employees to seek membership and representation from the Arkansas State Teachers Association, a nonprofit, professional association created and led by educators. Membership of the ASTA includes a variety of school employees, including teachers and administrators.
"The biggest concern is for the kids," Michele Linch, executive director of the ASTA, said to the newspaper on Thursday. "Teachers have to be in a culture where they feel safe, supported and able to learn and grow. And this is a huge distraction."
Facilitator Beth McKinney admitted during her testimony she was nervous. McKinney slumped and began to cry when she returned to her seat.
Attorneys from the district's legal representation by the Bequette & Billingsley law firm in Little Rock led a line of questioning to determine if Gibson provided financial assistance or support for the nine individuals called to testify by her attorney, Robert Newcomb, during a hearing of more than eight hours from Dec. 15-16.
Bequette & Billingsley attorney Cody Kees asked first-grade teacher Haley Thornton if Gibson provided her with financial assistance. Thornton took 20 seconds to collect herself to explain Gibson began paying her tuition for graduate school more than a year ago.
"She is doing that with no stipulations," Thornton said through tears. "None."
Kees also asked Thornton if Gibson helped her pay for any house repairs. Thornton said she did not.
Gibson also began to cry during her own testimony when she confirmed she was paying Thornton's tuition. Kees asked her if she ever gifted an entire house to anyone, to which she replied she did not.
Gibson said Nathan Sullivan, principal of the high school, and his family moved into a renter's home of hers in the summer and will begin paying market value in January. Sullivan spent the last several months making improvements to the property before paying full price in January.
The language shifted when Jay Bequette, with Bequette & Billingsley, asked Gibson about Garland County sheriff's Deputy Mark Kizer, who previously said Superintendent Nancy Anderson accused him of "sleeping with" Gibson.
"What about Deputy Kizer? Have you provided any services to him?" Bequette asked.
Gibson said she edited and proofed his work for graduate school, but nothing more. Linch said the nature of the termination of Gibson contributed to many staff members not feeling professionally safe or personally safe.
The administration did not seek to corroborate claims made by parents with Thornton, who observed one of the paddlings, nor school nurse Katee Fendley or Pam Jackson, an administrative assistant who has been with the district for 28 years, who were present for the incidents in question.
"They will tell you that Ms. Gibson helped create that culture of professionalism and it being safe to learn and grow," Linch said. "We always say in education, 'You have to learn and grow out loud,' so that you can talk about what went right and what went wrong to learn from each other.
"That is what the culture with Ms. Gibson was building there. Now, that that (culture) is gone, they are fearful and they are fearful to say anything and speak out."
Linch said at least 15-20 Cutter Morning Star employees are members of ASTA, including several who joined in recent months. She said almost all of the district's ASTA members are employees of the elementary school.
Kees responded by email to the newspaper's request for comment on Thursday.
"The safety of students and staff is a top priority of the district," Kees said. "Ms. (Terry) Lawler is serving as interim principal at the elementary school and she has been very well received by students, staff and parents and the school year is going great under her leadership."
Heather Hughes, library media specialist, said she previously discovered a recording device in an area of the library where teachers often ate their lunches and congregated. She said the recorder was not previously disclosed to the staff and a district employee told her he was instructed by Anderson to install it.
Linch said the ASTA is investigating the legality of the use of the device under state law and school policy. Multiple teachers also claimed to the newspaper other devices were installed throughout the elementary school. Anderson said the only cameras installed by the district were in some common areas of the high school.
"It is definitely a concern and it is definitely one of the factors that created the feeling of not being safe, professionally or personally," Linch said.
Linch said one of the foundational concerns about the district's leadership was the termination of the district's personnel policy committee. She said law requires the superintendent ensure the district has a personnel policy committee.
"She terminated that committee a couple of years ago," Linch said.
Linch said a personnel policy committee is supposed to weigh in on policy changes within the district and have time or space to present at board meetings. She said the cancellation of the committee essentially stripped employees of their voice in the district.
"And it is a concern of parents, too, because I have also had parents start calling me," Linch said. "Because it also gives the community and the parents a view inside of how teachers are looking at policy."
Neither the district nor its attorneys responded to a request for comment on the lack of a personnel policy committee. Frustrated parents sought financial records in the wake of Gibson's suspensions and alleged Anderson spent district funds in violation school policy with hotel stays in Little Rock.
District patrons protested Anderson during an event held on campus on Nov. 9. The board approved the creation of a new part-time position in November to fulfill public requests made under Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act.
Members of the board voted by majority to accept five of the seven reasons of termination prepared by Anderson. The board voted unanimously to accept two claims of scheduling improprieties by Gibson as true.
Newcomb asked at the start of the meeting for board President Mark Rash and Secretary Donna Fincher to recuse themselves from the hearing based on previous statements they publicly made in support of Anderson. They asserted to their own legal representative they could issue an unbiased vote at the hearing.
"The board is represented by attorney Sharon Street, who will conduct the hearing and advise the board on matters of law and procedure," Rash said at the start of the meeting.
Street ruled against Newcomb, as she did throughout the night, and did not ask Rash and Fincher to recuse themselves. The board would have voted in favor of six of Anderson's seven reasons to fire Gibson, as well as the final vote to terminate her employment, without Rash and Fincher's votes.
Gibson's firing ended more than 12 months of uncertainty.
"Last year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I called Dr. Anderson with Mr. (Tab) Tucker (counselor) sitting in my office, and asked her what I had done that had so disappointed her, where I had missed her vision for the district," Gibson said. "I acknowledged the fact that she was indeed the superintendent. I knew that something I was doing was displeasing to her. I just didn't know what it was and I offered to resign then.
"I offered to resign at the end of the semester. I offered to resign at the end of the school year. And, so, I asked for help because are things that I am unsure of and don't know."
The district's fall semester ended on Wednesday. A professional development day is scheduled for Jan. 5. Students are scheduled to start the spring semester on Jan. 8.
Local on 12/24/2017