UPDATE: ECHS Asst. Principal Fired

(St. Leon, Ind.) – The assistant principal at East Central High School has been fired, with school district officials citing his inability to effectively discipline students.

The Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools Board of Trustees voted 4-1 in a special meeting Thursday evening to terminate the administrative and teaching contract of Dr. Steven Deutsch effective immediately.

Deutsch had been on paid administrative leave since November 29.

“I loved working there,” Deutsch said Friday. “I spent 12 and a half wonderful years at East Central High School and in the community. It was a pleasure, privilege, and honor to serve those kids.”

According to a Findings of Fact document provided to Eagle 99.3, Deutsch was incompetent and neglected his duty. Among the accusations, he couldn’t control difficult situations, mishandled situations with disabled students, and misplaced disciplinary reports.

After Deutsch was put on leave, administrators found in his office over 100 disciplinary referrals which had not been processed.

The thirty teachers who filed those referrals were asked by a teachers union representative if the referrals were handled to their satisfaction. Twenty of the teachers stated they had not been.

In an interview with district Superintendent Dr. Jeff Hendrix, Deutsch claimed the referrals had been withdrawn.

The investigation also found Deutsch failed to follow up on issues with students, police, parents, and counselors.

Like many administrators and teachers in Indiana public schools, Deutsch had been asked to take on more responsibility amid the public education budget crunch since 2008.

When former East Central principal Don Criswell retired in 2010, Deutsch’s fellow assistant principal Robert Shipley was promoted to head principal of the high school. Because of a tighter budget, Deutsch was left as the only assistant principal. He was charged with enforcing discipline and attendance rules.

In the findings of fact, Deutsch stated he was overwhelmed by the workload. Administrators lightened his workload by relieving him of the responsibility of attendance issues.

Deutsch declined to comment directly on his firing by directing those questions to his attorney. A phone call to the attorney was not immediately returned.

Update added at 1:20 p.m.

Deutsch’s Attorney Weighs In

Steven Deutsch’s attorney says his client was fired as a retaliatory move.

“He worked there 12 and a half years and had a good review all the time,” said Michael Kendall, an Evansville lawyer who has represented many teachers and administrators in their complaints against school districts.

Then, Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools began reducing staff through early retirements and not replacing departing staff amid a budget crunch. When Shipley replaced Criswell as the high school principal, Deutsch suddenly went from handling discipline for 700 students to 1,400.

“For 20 years at East Central High School there were two assistant principals for 1,400 students. The average workload is 500 to 600 students per assistant principal in an ideal situation,” Kendall said.

In May 2011, Deutsch received a satisfactory review for the work he was doing as the school’s lone assistant principal.

Deutsch, 45, then filed a charge of discrimination on religious and age reasons. Deutsch was the only Jewish employee in the district, Kendall claims.

Hendrix and Shipley were each named in the complaint.

“Then they whacked him,” said Kendall. “He was put on leave on the first day back at school after Thanksgiving. He worked there 12 and a half years and they accompanied him in his office and escorted him out.”

Deutsch will file a new charge of discrimination stating his termination was retaliatory, Kendall said. Deutsch will also file an appeal against the school board’s decision in Dearborn Circuit Court within the next 30 days.

During a hearing with district officials on February 13 and 14, several current and former teachers and administrators came to testify in favor of Deutsch, including the former principal Criswell. Another supporter was a former student who drove two hours from the Louisville area to attend the hearing.

“I’ve never had a former teacher or administrator have such an outpouring of people wanting to testify for him,” Kendall said.

The backstory, Kendall said he believes, is that Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools created a deficit with its building project in the past several years. Now, the district is evening its budget by cutting personnel costs, requiring remaining staff to take on additional responsibilities.

Kendall said no lawsuit has been filed in regards to Deutsch’s termination. A second attorney, Stephanie Jane Hahn, is also representing Deutsch.

LINKS:

ECHS Asst. Principal On Paid Leave