By Dan King
After less than a school year at Whitehall Elementary School, Brett Lamy is out as principal.
Superintendent Liz Legault, who is about to leave for another job herself, said that Lamy resigned for “personal reasons.”
However, several school officials who requested anonymity said that Lamy was fired for using foul language in front of students, and in at least one instance that language was used to describe another faculty member.
“He gave me his resignation on Monday at about 1:30,” Legault said.
But a source said: “He was screaming and cussing on the phone and some students heard him. They called in some of the students who had heard it and they confirmed what they had heard.”
To fill the sudden vacancy, former Granville elementary principal Jane O’Shea was hired on as an interim appointee by Legault; she began work on Tuesday.
“I received some phone calls from people involved with literacy at BOCES and they highly recommended Jane,” Legault said. “Although it went quickly I think it will be a smooth transition throughout this process.”
Legault said she was quickly drawn to O’Shea because of her focus on APPR, Common Core standards and her experience in literacy.
“She’s very bright,” Legault said. “She’s grounded in literacy and mathematics, so hopefully it will be a win-win for both.”
O’Shea gave a resignation letter to the Granville Board of Education two weeks ago, citing differences she and the board of education had regarding “educational philosophy.”
Legault said she “knew (Lamy’s) resignation was coming,” but even when that letter came in, she said her “head was spinning, trying to think what we’re going to do at the elementary school.”
A group of teachers were pulled into Legault’s office last Tuesday afternoon to discuss a potential replacement for Lamy, and at that point, Legault and the faculty had decided that O’Shea was the top candidate for the position.
“The teachers had no idea why they needed to be in my office,” Legault said. “It was spontaneous, schools are event-driven and this was an event.”
The Board of Education will need to approve the appointment of O’Shea before she can become a full-time principal. For now, O’Shea will serve on an interim basis and will help administer Common Core testing next week.
“She’s interim right now, it’s like when a teacher goes out on maternity leave, you appoint somebody to replace them,” Legault added.
Legault said she plans to recommend O’Shea to the full-time position during the April board meeting, which will be Legault’s last meeting as superintendent. She will leave the district on May 7.
Lamy was hired last July to replace former principal David St. Germaine.
If foul language did play a role in the end of Lamy’s time with Whitehall, it wouldn’t be the first time that caused a faculty member to lose their position. Head football coach Justin Culligan was fired in October for allegedly using unspecified “foul language.”
