Editorial Risky move by school board, but it could work

The Webutuck Central School District’s Board of Education (BOE) made a highly controversial decision last week when it voted, 6-1, to rehire former high school principal Ken Sauer to once again take rein and title as the new Webutuck High School principal. The move came as quite a surprise to parents, students and staff in the district.

But considering the fact that Webutuck has been struggling to keep a loyal administrative team that can get its student population in tip-top shape, perhaps those taken aback by the decision shouldn’t have been as shocked as they were. For the past number of years there has been a revolving door at Webutuck, with superintendents, principals, vice principals and other staff members leaving almost as quickly as they arrived — a pattern that has done nothing to instill a feeling of trust and comfort among those attending or working in the district.

It has also left little time to attend to the more difficult issues that administrators would ideally have addressed if there was more stability, issues touching on both social and academic problems that take time to root out and work through. Bringing in Sauer, who knows exactly what he is in store for, could be a calculated move on the school board’s side to establish some permanence and leadership without the worry of a newcomer having “culture shock,� which could send him or her reeling back to where he or she came from, tasks unfinished.

Also, Sauer has a reputation for being strict. He is known to set down rules that he expects to have obeyed. In a school like Webutuck High School, where students need to improve their academic focus as well as their social skills, this may not be a bad thing.

Should he rule with an iron fist? Well, it’s hard to say, especially without the first-hand knowledge of experiencing exactly how he runs things. And certainly, if the complaints made at last week’s BOE meeting that he has anger issues, humiliates students and shows favoritism are true, that’s unacceptable. The school board and the superintendent would then have to address and solve those issues immediately. Period.

But if parents are just upset because their children have been disciplined, well, there’s not much to say except maintaining proper behavior on the school campus is appropriate. It’s the principal’s job to suitably discipline students, and they should abide by the school’s rules of behavior. Those rules have long been ignored at Webutuck, and it’s high time they be followed. If Sauer is the one to make that so, then by all means the community should encourage that.

Concerns were raised last week because Sauer was asked to resign from his position as principal from the Brockport Central School District outside of Rochester, for reasons unknown. It’s the district he served in after he resigned from Webutuck. It would be better, certainly, to have more information about that, to comfort and reassure us, but the circumstances regarding his departure are confidential.  That is unfortunate and disconcerting.

However, there must be trust placed in the BOE regarding its decision that Sauer is qualified for the position at Webutuck, and that the recommendation from his most recent post in North Carolina was sincere. More importantly yet — and the school board seems to get this — as high school principal, Sauer doesn’t have to be the most popular man on campus, he just has to do his job and earn people’s respect. And there seems to be little dispute that during the three years he served at Webutuck High School, from 2004 to 2007, even those students who weren’t fond of him had to admit that the school was in better shape after he joined the administration. That’s saying something.

We hope those sentiments will again hold true once Ken Sauer returns to the halls of Webutuck High School. We’re not exactly sure what to expect, but we are looking forward to his arrival as an opportunity for the school to improve. We’re optimistic and hoping to award high marks.