WEDDINGTON, N.C. — Protests continued at Union Day School on Friday morning.
Teachers called for the resignation of four board members
Teachers say they won't return to school Monday without these resignations
This marked the second day kids weren't in school
It marked the second day of no school for students, as teachers and parents protested.
It all started when the UDS board fired Principal Matthew Hamilton. Last week, he and his daughter, who attends UDS, were escorted out of school.
Once he was fired, teachers compiled a list of questions for the board to answer regarding its policies. They also required the board to provide documentation with its answers.
Teachers say while they got answers to the questions, it was not what they were looking for, and they did not get documentation.
"We received answers. They were vague and incomplete,” teacher Kristin Evans said."We received answers. They were vague and incomplete,” teacher Kristin Evans said. “And in those questions we were asking that our grievance policy was followed. The responses did indicate that the grievance policy was followed, but I had the opportunity to participate in the board meeting with two of our board members in which Jim Lovell, our board director, said that well actually, that policy doesn’t apply to the head of school, so we followed a different policy.”
Teachers also asked four of the founding board members to resign. They requested that three of the board members resign within the next 15 school days, starting Monday. They requested one specific board member resign by noon on Friday, which did not happen.
Teachers say they won’t return to class Monday if the board members do not resign.
While Hamilton was not present at the protest, he did give a statement that parent Brian Vessels read in his place. In part it reads:
"Mr. Hamilton firmly believes that the primary purpose of the UDS Head of School role is to promote an exceptional educational space for UDS students and families,” Vessels read. "He is hopeful he can continue to help build and foster a positive environment for the UDS parents, teachers, staff and entire UDS community.”
Teachers say they received an email from the board, requiring all teachers to return to class on Monday, without exceptions. Teachers say they felt threatened and bullied from the email.
Lovell sent a letter to parents.
"It is clear to us that no board member should ever be forced to resign due to personnel decisions with which staff disagree, nor should they trade away employees based on retribution or retaliation,” said the letter in part.
The full letter is below: