NORWICH – “A house that is divided on itself, can not stand,” said Don Tubbs, just one of the many speakers at Tuesday night’s Norwich Board of Education meeting.
Tubbs, a district employee, said problems related to leadership and morale – particularly in the middle school – are continuing to escalate. “Things are not getting better,” he said.
As the meeting got underway Tuesday, however, it was apparent that district problems do not lie only in one building. During public comment, teacher Bruce Race spoke about high school principal Tom Knapp, and how he has helped to improve the environment of the high school. Race said teachers and staff are wondering why Knapp has not returned from a medical absence.
“He said he would return after the Memorial Day weekend, but he has not been back,” Race said, adding, “his office has been purged of files ... and we have seen this happen before.”
Race finished his statement to the board by asking, “Where is our leader?”
This morning, Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan said he could not comment on Knapp’s employment status because it was a confidential personnel matter.
“Mr. Knapp is not available to be principal right now,” said O’Sullivan. Instead, former longtime superintendent Dr. Robert Cleveland is filling in. “Bob Cleveland is filling in on an interim basis and is doing a great job as he always does,” O’Sullivan said.
Before Knapp, former Norwich High School Principal Jack Ross was removed from his office and “reassigned” to administrative duties at the Eaton Center. He never returned to the high school, and later left the district’s employ. Knapp was tapped for the principal post from his previous job as the district’s athletics director, which also saw a revolving door of personnel over the last few years.
After discussion of Knapp’s status at last night’s board meeting with no clear answer given, the floor was open to newly-elected school board member Sally Chirlin, who addressed the climate and morale of the city schools. By the end of the evening, her statements led to a loud heated discussion among various board and audience members.
Chirlin said she ran for a seat on the board after seeing “a swift decline in school morale, in the treatment of school employees and the effect it is having on staff and therefore the students.”
