Over a dozen students at Wiscasset Middle High School (WMHS) staged a walkout Monday morning in protest of school staff resigning and against the move by Wiscasset Superintendent Kim Andersson to potentially fire WMHS Principal Gina Stevens.
Last Monday, Nov. 13, the Wiscasset School Committee voted 4-0 to conduct a dismissal hearing for Stevens over allegations from Superintendent Andersson accusing the principal of installing a hidden camera in a WMHS food pantry and the mistreatment of students and staff.
The complaints against Stevens from Andersson also included the improper removal of a student from school, interrogating students about vaping in a school bathroom, and a general lack of communication with the superintendent.
“Ms. Stevens’s above behavior toward staff and students was in contravention of her responsibilities and obligations as the Principal of WMHS and demonstrates her repeated dishonesty, poor judgment, lack of responsibility, and communication failures,” Andersson said at the meeting. “As a result, she can no longer be trusted to do her job in a professional manner or to support all students and staff.”
Stevens’ attorney, Portland-based labor attorney Gregg Frame, said following the committee’s vote that Stevens denies all the allegations brought against her, and will come to the dismissal hearing with “evidence disputing everything.”
A week prior to the Nov. 13 meeting, a group of 25 WMHS staff members wrote a letter to the committee in support of Stevens shared with the Times Record, praising her “exceptional dedication, fair and efficient leadership and untiring passion for education, for students, and for the climate at WMHS.”
The staff members wrote that Stevens being WMHS principal was one of the major factors in many of the staff members choosing the school as their place of work, and that “there are both veteran and new staff who are ready to look elsewhere for employment if Gina [Stevens] is dismissed.”
According to Superintendent Andersson, the student walkout was due to some students being “worried that teachers will resign” based on the staff letter.
In the past few weeks, one WMHS teacher and one support staff member have resigned their employment, Andersson told the Maine Wire in a Tuesday email.
A total of 17 students participated in the walkout, which left from WMHS and led to the Superintendent’s office.
“Some carried signs protesting staff leaving and some carried signs protesting me,” Andersson said.
The Wiscasset Superintendent said that the walkout was “handled by school staff in a calm and vigilant manner,” with staff walking with the students to ensure their safety along the road.
During the walkout, Andersson was holding a “Listening Session” in the school library for students to share their concerns.
Following the walkout, the protesting students joined the Listening Session with the Superintendent for about 45, according to Andersson, after which some of the students went back to class and others left the school for the day.
