There was trouble between the principal and teachers again today at
Sadie Vernon High School. It got so bad that an aggrieved teacher called the
police on his own school chairlady. Classes for the school’s 200 plus
students were disrupted this morning and officially cancelled this afternoon
after the school’s 29 teachers refused to teach. It all started when they
walked out of their classrooms after second period this morning in protest of
the suspension of a teacher. 7News was there and Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Instead of classrooms, teachers at Sadie Vernon High School spent this morning
in the staff room. They were sitting in – in protest.
Andrea Banner, Staff Rep on School Board
“We are not in class right now because we have decided to sit out
until we have a meeting with the chairlady. Earlier this morning an incident
occurred with a teacher. He was called into the principal’s office by 
the chairlady and during the discussion he was accused of having an affair with
a student and no proper investigation of that sort was carried out. Personal
things were said to him and he took offense to that and we decided to ban together
as a staff and sit out until they come and meet with us.”
Problems between the teachers and principal here at Sadie Vernon High are nothing
new. But according to teachers, the main problem is that principal Laura Baptiste
continuously undermines their authority and respect.
Andrea Banner,
“This has been going on for two to three years. Last year we were
in the news just before the summer. We had some of these cases that came up;
disrespectful behaviour, no discipline, and things of that sort. Last term she
was on long leave and we had acting principal who was the vice principal and
for that term everything went smoothly. When she came back for the second term,
a lot of the decisions that had been made by the acting principal at the time
were overturned. For example, some of the suspensions that were done were reviewed
and even up to demerits, something as simple as that which teachers can justify,
those were questioned as well. We don’t really have a good communication
with her any at all. It is a top down style of administrating; if you don’t
do what I say then I guess you will suffer the consequences.”
But today the consequence was felt by Sadie Vernon’s two hundred plus
students who cluelessly sat in classrooms unsupervised for more than two hours. 
Ronald Pitterson is the secretary on the School’s Student Council.
Ronald Pitterson, Secretary – Sadie Vernon Student Council
“Everybody is in the class waiting for the teachers come and nobody
came. So we are just sitting in class waiting for a teacher to come and no teacher
has come in the class yet. They are in the staff room saying they won’t
teach, or so we are hearing because we do not know for sure. So we are just
sitting in class waiting for the teacher to come.
It is affecting us big because we have ATLIB tomorrow and we have CXCs
and we need to get prepared for those and I am in fourth form. So we really
need to get prepared for those stuff and we aren’t getting nothing and
the teachers are just in there right now, they should be teaching us. We need
to learn more stuff about the ATLIB and CXC and what not. I just want the teachers
to teach we because I want to pass and graduate from this school.”
Andrea Banner who is the staff rep on the school’s board acknowledged
their obligation as teachers to teach.
Keith Swift,
“Don’t you think that as teachers, no matter what differences you
have with the principal that you have an obligation to teach?”
Andrea Banner,
“Yes we know we should be teaching and in our classes but there is
a point when we can’t go forward until we have a resolution. For last
term we were doing okay, it was fine, but when she came back the problems started
again. So we can’t move on if we still have that problem. It is like if
you have a sore and they are always bucking or rubbing against it, it is never
going to be healed.”
And to try and bridge the chasm between principal Laura Baptiste and teachers
– Belize District Education Manager Jahmor Lopez intervened close to midday.
But there was no easy truce this afternoon between the administration
and teachers at the school. Deputy Chief Education Officer Carol Babb met with
the teachers but neither the principal nor the chairlady were part of that meeting.
And despite the tensions at the school, Board Chairlady Denise Neal went ahead
and issued a letter suspending teacher Kendle Esquivel for, “gross
insubordination to the administration and threat to the chairlady.” Senior
personnel we spoke to indicated clearly to us that she had no authority to do
that.
A Ministry of Education representative told us that teachers have agreed
to return to the classroom tomorrow. Teachers however tell us they will return
only on the condition that the suspension of Kendle Esquivel is lifted. So that
is where it is tonight. Sadie Vernon’s 29 teachers will return to school
tomorrow but they have given no assurance that they will teach. We were told
the senior technical team at the Ministry of Education was meeting this evening
to find a solution to the crisis.
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