Board terminates Williamsburg schools superintendent's contract

KINGSTREE — Members of the Williamsburg County School District Board of Trustees voted Thursday to terminate superintendent Dr. Ralph C. Fennell Jr.’s contract with a 5-0 vote with one abstention.

“The board, after carefully reviewing this matter, believes that this action is in the best interest of the district,” the Rev. Norman Gamble, the board’s chairman, said following the vote.

Trustee Barbara “Bunny” McKenzie was the one abstention. Gamble did not vote.

School district attorney Charles Boykin emphasized the decision was implemented in accordance with a clause in Fennell’s contract with the district that the board has the authority to terminate his employment.

The board also passed a motioned to begin a nation wide search for a new superintendent, something Gamble said should be completed by mid-February, 2010 or within the next 90 days.

Neither Fennell nor his attorney could be reached for comment on the board’s decision.

The termination was the most recent event in a string of struggles that have occurred between Fennell and the board. On Feb. 23, trustees voted that “no hiring, transfers, lateral transfers or promotions be completed without Board approval,” a motion that stripped Fennel of most of his administrative duties.

On July 14, trustees voted 5-1 to place the superintendent on administrative leave, effectively removing him from the position. The single vote against the action was an abstention by McKenzie.

Assistant superintendent of human services Linda B. Huell was voted interim superintendent by the board with four votes for and two abstentions, McKenzie and vice chairwoman Norma D. Bartelle.

In a joint statement released through the office of the superintendent the week following Fennell’s leave, the district said the superintendent and the board had “recognized issues that they would like to amicably resolve as to the efficient and cohesive administration of the district.”

The release said both parties mutually agreed to Fennell’s administrative leave, during which time he would maintain full pay and benefits, while he and the board “engage in diligent good faith efforts to reach an accord.”

The manner in which the two parties hope to reach that accord has remained largely unknown. All discussion on the matter took place behind closed doors in executive sessions, to which the public was not permitted access.

Fennell, along with attorney Daryl G. Hawkins, met with the board in executive session Nov. 18 to discuss matters regarding his status within the district.

“They just had some questions about things that have come up since I went on administrative leave,” Fennell said after the meeting.

Following the meeting, Gamble said members discussed whether Fennell “has indeed performed his duties and responsibilities during his tenure,” but took no action.

At that meeting, the board approved an action allowing the chairman to notify “an employee” that his or her contract would not be renewed beyond the 2009-2010 school year. The district never confirmed whether the employee was Fennell.

Gamble said actions taken against former-superintendent Fennell were not directed against him personally.

“The move was made against the position, not the person,” Gamble said.

Some trustees expressed sympathy for the superintendent during the events between Fennell and the board. Board member McKenzie, along with W.C. Henryhand Jr. and Joe Lee, voted in opposition to the motion strip Fennell of his power. Members Bartelle, Kent Evans and Charles Garner favored the proposal, which carried with the tie-breaking vote from chairman Gamble.

At a board meeting in June, just before the motion for Fennell’s leave carried, Lee said the superintendent wasn’t being allowed to complete the duties of his post.

Fennell’s leave was just the latest in what has been a series of major district shake-ups. In June, the board shuffled the district’s organizational chart, creating several new positions and demoting and promoting some existing district officials. Several new people also were hired to fill various positions. In at least two cases, the possibilities of lawsuits against the district have been discussed.