WOODLAND – A third member of the Woodland Middle School staff has been removed from his position by Superintendent Michael Green.
Joe Michaud, a counselor, was put on leave with pay on Jan. 5, although Green said personnel policies prevent him from discussing the case in detail.
“Administrative leave is not disciplinary in any way, shape or form,” Green said. “Whenever we have credible complaints or credible evidence of employee wrongdoing we investigate those complaints.”
Earlier, Green terminated physical education teacher Cheryl Nesbitt and English teacher Holly Royle. According to their termination letters, the firings were due to “misrepresentation or falsification in the course of professional practice.”
The teachers will get hearings to seek reinstatement and remain on paid status until then.
Nesbitt has been a PE teacher for 21 years and Royle has been an English teacher for 11 years. They were terminated for improperly registering a special education student for a class, according to school officials.
Roy Maier, the teachers’ union representative, told The Reflector he believes Nesbitt and Royale were fired for compiling a list of alleged misconduct by Woodland Middle School principal Cari Thomson.
Maier wrote in a letter to Green that parents as well as teachers say Thomson physically assaulted a special education student, discussed sexual matters in front of students and staff, and engaged in inappropriate behavior in front of students and staff.
Woodland parents have opened a petition on www.Change.org that seeks to have Thomson removed from her job. The petition reads:
“Whereas, Principal Thomson has shared her own prescription drugs with a middle school student in violation of RCW 28A.210, and Whereas, Principal Thomson has committed unprofessional acts such as constant swearing during the school day, discussed her purchase of pornography, sharing her personal sexual activities with staff, pulled students from class to do her personal chores, and used school time to take care of personal business such as the purchase of alcohol, Therefore, we the undersigned Woodland citizens and patrons of the Woodland School District petition the Woodland School District Board of Directors to remove Principal Cari Thomson from employment in the Woodland School District.”
A total of 327 people had signed the petition as of the morning of Jan. 12. Woodland Police Chief Phillip Crochet said allegations of Thomson having given prescription medication to a student are being investigation. The Reflector could not reach Thomson for comment.
Some students, parents and community members protested the teachers’ terminations last week by holding signs near the school as classes let out for the day. They waved at passing motorists, many of whom honked their horn in support.
Tony Harper, the grandmother of a female student, held a sign that read, “Bring Back Our Teachers.” Harper alleges that Thomson engaged in “inappropriate touching” on the arm, shoulder or hair of some students.
“I know of at least 30 girls who have had this done,” Harper said. “She inappropriately touched my granddaughter on three occasions.”
That girl, McKayla Shippen, said Thomson once played with her hair in the hallway and tried to play with her glasses.
“She will come up behind kids and caress their shoulders,” Shippen said. “I’ve seen her do that to seven or eight kids.”
Jolleen Washburn, a former eight-year Woodland schools employee, held a sign at the protest that said, “Woodland Socialist Dictatorship.” Washburn, a school bus driver, was terminated in October 2012 after voicing opposition to being required to pick up a 6-year-old student at a heavily traveled intersection on Lewis River Road that she considered unsafe.
Others on hand for the demonstration said they objected to the district’s lack of transparency and lack of a collaborative approach with parents.
Cindy Casteel, the grandparents of two Woodland students, said she regretted enrolling them in the Woodland district.
“I am so sorry I transferred from Hockinson,” she said. “It was the biggest mistake I ever made for them.”
