The Gillingham Charter School board of trustees created a special committee Monday night to review the process used by its directors to let the contracts of six teachers lapse.
Lori Quinn, vice president and director of public relations and marketing, said that the committee will be made up of three new board members: Marsha Chwastiak, president, and Mindy Heppe and Marlene Rowe. They will examine the process used by Nicolle M. Hutchinson, director of education and CEO, Christie Werkheiser, director of organizational development, and Dustin Caruso, special education coordinator and dean of students.
"It's deliberately made up of new board members so that the original board members do not taint the process of coming to a true conclusion," Quinn said.
The school recently decided not to renew the contracts of six teachers for the 2013-14 school year. Two of the teachers, Heather Shollenberger and Maureen Challenger, spoke with The Republican-Herald earlier this month. Both teachers had been at the school for two years and said they were not officially notified of the decision until they received a letter from the school dated June 6.
The letter thanked them for their time at the school but no reason was given for their contracts not being renewed. Board members have not commented on the decision.
After the meeting, Shollenberger said she didn't have any comment but Challenger was pleased that the decision is being given more consideration.
"I loved working with the students at Gillingham and I put forth a great deal of effort to be a master teacher," Challenger said. "I do have questions as to how to best utilize the relational principles and ensure adequate preparation for standardized tests and college preparation."
By the July 18 board meeting, the committee will decide whether to approve the recommendation of the directors to not renew the contracts, Chwastiak said. She said if the committee decides to not approve the recommendation, it will be up to the board to determine the next step.
During the public comment part at the end of the meeting, Bill Moran, Pottsville, who according to newspaper archives is a 34-year veteran of public education as a teacher and administrator, voiced his concerns about the new committee.
"I'm concerned that you're setting a committee to review something that's already been done when you have bylaws that say it should have been done prior to someone being dismissed," Moran said. "It seems a little backwards to me and it lacks transparency. This seems to be kind of like going back and rubber stamping this to make sure we get it in the minutes that we dismissed them."
The board did not respond to the comments.
After the meeting, Moran and several others from the public were talking to several board members.
Quinn told Moran that the way the bylaws are interpreted by the board, when a contract is not renewed, the board doesn't have to review it, but if a teacher is terminated before his or her one-year contract is complete, it must be approved by the board.
In other business, the board also approved the construction contract with Yongcheol Kim Architects for minor renovations to the school.
Werkheiser did not know the amount of the project but said it was low enough that the school didn't have to seek bids.
She also said the renovations are to be able to accommodate a new classroom because the school will have an 11th grade and more students this year.
There will also be art classes held in the administration building across the street.