Editor:

I attended the S-GI School Board meeting on October 20 and listened with great interest as several members of the community raised concerns regarding the impending dismissal of two administrative members of the district’s staff. I also watched as petitions containing the signatures of several hundred community members were presented to the board regarding an investigation into the policies and procedures that are leading to this action. I was also amazed to witness the complete lack of concern from the Board regarding the events of that evening. It is quite clear that none of the events of that evening had any impact on the very people who were elected by us to represent our interests with regard to school matters.

It should be known by all community members that later in the week the superintendent of schools then prohibited one of the affected administrators, William Dickinson, from being on school property, including the attendance at all athletic events, both home and away, unless written permission was received from Vicki Wright. In talking to Mr. Dickinson’s wife, I learned that their son was playing in a junior varsity football game on Saturday morning and that permission to attend his son’s game was denied. Mr. Dickinson spent Saturday morning watching his son’s game with a pair of binoculars from outside the school’s fence on Greenwood Place.

Such behavior by Ms. Wright is unforgiveable. This is not the kind of behavior that we would expect from any of our children let alone a person who is leading our schools. Mr. Dickinson is engaged in a lab or dispute with the superintendent. He is not a threat to anyone and this treatment is nothing short of hateful and vindictive. Can anyone imagine how his wife and children must feel about our schools and community?

Instead of handling this situation in a manner that is based on compromise and understanding, the board and the superintendent have chosen to once again spend thousands of dollars seeking legal opinions and further tarnishing the reputation of our district in the eyes of Western New York. Do we really want a district that is run by attorneys? If so, why do we pay a superintendent’s salary as well?

I would like to remind the superintendent that this community was the one that gave her a second chance after she was asked to leave her former school district. That is the kind of community that we are. One would think that she would have used that chance to use a more humanistic approach when dealing with people, but instead she feels that bullying, intimidating and coercing, with the help of high-priced attorneys, is the way to improve our district.

Her current argument in removing Mr. Dickinson centers on an error that the district made when hiring him. Apparently there is some question concerning his certification. Although she suspended Mr. Dickinson she apparently replaced him with an individual who also does not have that certification and according to the board minutes, he is being paid $300 per day! This is outrageous.

I would encourage all members of the community to attend the next school board meeting to be held in Colden on Tuesday evening, November 3 at 7 o’clock. Also, call board members or e-mail them to express our concerns regarding these recent events. A simple matter that could have been handled with the understanding that Mr. Dickinson would need to complete requirements for the required certification would have made this situation very easy to manage. Instead, we have potentially ruined the lives of a very dedicated and vested family in the community. We can only wonder how the more “important” tasks of guiding our education system in Springville are going. It’s time that we turned our schools over to an individual who is vested in our community and not someone who has so publicly distanced herself from us. Again, it is time that the board recognizes that we have concerns and that we deserve more than just blank stares.



Janine Caimano

Springville