HAYMARKET — Elected leaders in Prince William County are voicing their displeasure with the way an external investigation into a longtime school administrator was handled.
The county’s school division on Friday notified parents via a letter that Ronald Reagan Middle School Principal Alfie Turner would not return to the school following an internal investigation into allegations she bullied teachers there. She was reassigned to the school division’s human resources office, and Roger Dallek, a principal who retired from Gar-Field High School in Woodbridge will serve as an interim principal until a replacement for Turner is hired.
Interviews of school faculty and staff conducted during the investigation found that “the strain placed on the principal, assistant principals, and other teaching staff by a relatively small group of discontented faculty members who resisted changes in management and accountability measures, and enlisted parents and social and news media in a public campaign to undermine the administration,” according to letter sent home to Regan Middle School parents from Bill Bixby, a schools associate superintendent.
Prince William County Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland took issue with that letter.
“I am profoundly disappointed in the condescending and disrespectful tone in the Bixby communication to the [Ronald Reagan Middle School] community that clearly tried to deflect blame from the administrative staff to what is characterized as a “relatively small group of discontented faculty members who resisted changes,” Candland penned in a statement Sunday. “Equally offensive is the unsupported claim that these teachers “enlisted parents and social media in a public campaign to undermine the administration.”
The school, Prince William County’s newest middle school that houses about 1,400 students, sits in Candland’s district. However, he does not have authority over its operation. The county’s school board does, however, and it’s members, too, also expressed displeasure in the letter to parents for the way it was written.
A consultant brought in to conduct the investigation interviewed 89 of the 129 teachers and staff who work at the school. Findings indicate “everyone had heard of these accusations” of bullying and intimidation, but fewer than a quarter of the teachers interviewed said they had experienced unfair treatment from Turner.
Under Turner’s leadership, Virginia Standards of Learning test scores in the 2016-17 school year ranked high, with the school earning passing scores that ranged between 84 and 95 in all subjects to include history, math, science, writing, and reading. She also worked as an administrator at Potomac Middle and Coles Elementary schools in Prince William County before working at Reagan.
Candland stated his office received multiple calls from Gainesville District constituents asking for him to become involved in the schools’ matter, which is unusual for a sitting member of the county’s Board of Supervisors. Now he plans to call a special meeting in May (a date has yet to be announced) to allow parents and teachers to share concerns about the investigation and has asked Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts to attend.
Reagan Middle School is located at 15801 Tanning House Place in Haymarket.
