A dispute between the Morley Community School principal and the Stoney Education superintendent has cast a pall over end-of-term celebrations and has even left staff wondering whether their jobs will be protected by membership in a union.
Bill Groeneveld, who has been the principal of the 700-student school for the past year, said he has been unceremoniously fired by superintendent Yvonne DePeel after what he said was a year of “hell” between the two administrators.
Things came to a climax, Groeneveld said, when DePeel found out he was helping organize staff membership in the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), one of the nation’s largest trade unions, representing about 165,000 employees.
“It first came to a big head when she accused me of drinking in my office,” he said. “That questioned my integrity, so I went to my lawyer.”
While Groeneveld concedes DePeel later apologized for that incident, he maintains she then “took umbrage because of the union.”
In addition, he said, the superintendent fired him at a meeting where other staff members were present.
“There was no collaboration. She just said, ‘You’re no longer principal,’” he said.
DePeel, though declining to respond on the record to Groeneveld’s accusations, insists he has not been fired, but simply reassigned to curriculum development co-ordinator, a position she expects him to assume this fall when school resumes.
Laura Mensch, of the law firm Gowlings, is the Stoneys’ legal counsel on educational matters. She says the reassignment is a result of some hierarchy adjustments within the school’s administration.
“Last year they changed the system to have three principals, one for each division,” she explained. “But that was apparently confusing for the parent body. It wasn’t successful so changes were made.”
Mensch added the alleged encouragement of staff members to join PSAC was “not a reason for the decision.”
“Bill was identified as being very strong in curriculum development, and it’s the expectation of the Stoney authority that he’s coming back,” she said. “And I hope he does.”
Currently, an application has been made for certification into the union, but it has not yet been verified.
But one staff member, who did not want to be identified, said some teachers are fearful of losing their jobs and see the union as a safety net, while others are afraid they risk the ire of DePeel if they join.
“There are so many staff just terrified in that school,” the teacher said.
But Groeneveld said he and DePeel differ as well on more basic philosophical matters when it comes to education.
“She seems to think literacy is the problem,” he said. “It’s just rude to call these kids illiterate with all their iPods and computer skills and so on. The problem here is not illiteracy, it’s attendance.”
Morley educators have indeed been pioneers in some innovative literacy programs, specifically Discover Reading designed by the Reading Foundation, a private clinic with offices in Calgary and Vancouver. Teachers from across the country have visited the school in Morley to learn more about how to teach the program successfully.
There is also little debate about the fact that truancy is a serious challenge facing Stoney school administrators.
“None of the graduates this year had to be in literacy programs,” said Groeneveld. “Because once they’re here, they have no problem learning. Have all the literacy programs you want. Great, but they don’t work if you have no kids in your classroom.”
Whether DePeel and Groeneveld can find some common ground to resume work in the fall remains to be seen.
The principal said he will indeed return in September to begin his new position (which he said only materialized after DePeel realized he possibly had a union backing him), but he’s disappointed about the projects he will never get to finish.
“So many things I wanted to do, like small engine repair,” he said, adding he had hoped to focus less on large music rooms in the school and more on marketable skills like technical trades.
“Oh, I’ll be back next year,” he said. “But why not let me keep doing what I do best? Maybe Yvonne’s . . . just irritated by my success.”
DePeel believes Groeneveld will indeed be doing what he does best.
“Bill has worked in education as a counsellor and administrator for a long time, and most of the jobs he’s had he’s done quite well,” she said.
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