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Thursday, January 15, 2009
Supporters line up to fight for drama teacher
BEAVERCREEK — High school drama students created quite a scene over the dismissal of their director during the Thursday, Jan. 15, school board meeting.
Dozens of drama students, their parents and friends came to the meeting in support of Dawn Stamper, drama and English teacher, whose supplemental contract to direct the spring musical was dropped in December. She remains a teacher at the high school.
“Our theater department is one of the best in the state and the nation, not in spite of Dawn Stamper, but because of her,” said Korteney Kamaka, a former student who was one of nearly 40 in attendance at the meeting trying to convince the board to revisit their decision.
Thursday’s meeting was just part of a month-long effort by students and others to get Stamper re-instated. Letters in support of her have appeared in area newspapers, more than 400 people belong to a forum on the social networking Web site Facebook and students delivered petitions with more than 1,000 signatures to school officials.
Students have repeatedly pushed board member to give a reason for not renewing Stamper’s supplemental contract, but the board has refused because members say the matter is confidential and was discussed in closed session.
Stamper also will not elaborate on the reasons she was given for the contract as director not being renewed because she plans to fight the decision through her union.
Stamper called the reasons “vague” and unfair considering her productions have been nationally recognized. “It’s like a football coach taking a team to state and then being fired the next year,” she said.
Stamper wept as student after student spoke on her behalf. Then she addressed the board. “It goes without saying your decision not to renew my contract was devastating to me,” she said.
In response to a public records request by the Dayton Daily News, school officials are expected to release Stamper’s personnel file and any documents about her performance as director that the district finds “constitute public records” next week that may shed more light on the situation.
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Crowd expected at Beavercreek school board meeting
BEAVERCREEK — The high school drama department is expected to bring a little unexpected action to tonight’s school board meeting.
Members of the drama department and others say they will be at the meeting to speak in support of Dawn Stamper, and English and drama teacher whose supplemental contract to direct the spring musical the board voted not to renew.
The board made the decision before Christmas and since then members of Stamper’s classes and productions over the past six years, as well as parents, have pressed district officials to revisit their decision.
Letters in support of Stamper have appeared on local newspaper editorial pages, a page made up of more than 400 supporters appeared on the social networking site Facebook and students say they gathered nearly 1,000 signatures on petitions to have the instructor reinstated.
Stamper said she was given “vague” reasons for the contract not being renewed and she plans to fight the decision through her teachers union.
Stamper said her dismissal from the drama department doesn’t make sense after her productions have been nationally recognized. “It’s like a football coach taking a team to state and then being fired the next year,” she said.
In response to a public records request from Dayton Daily News asking to view Stamper’s personnel file and correspondence regarding her performance as drama instructor, Nicholas Subashi, school district attorney, said Stamper’s personnel file and any documents that the district found “constitute public records” would be released next week.
Meanwhile, students and parents said they planned to speak during the public input portion of tonight’s 7 p.m. school board meeting at 3040 Kemp Road in Beavercreek.
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