Chester school board decisions stressful; it’s time for district to heal, chairwoman says

As Chester County school board members were told of allegations against the district superintendent, a feeling of “shock” set in, the board’s chairwoman says, and the subsequent hours spent behind closed doors talking with attorneys took a toll.

In an interview with The Herald, Denise Lawson said the process – which culminated in Superintendent Agnes Slayman’s resignation last month – was “one of the most difficult I have ever done.” Lawson is one of Chester County’s longest-serving school board members, first elected more than two decades ago.

Slayman spent less than four years as Chester schools superintendent.

Prior to revelations of employee complaints in late August, Lawson said, she was pleased with Slayman’s performance. Slayman, a former principal and assistant superintendent in Kershaw, appeared to have elevated the Chester school district through her work.

She was rewarded by the school board with contract extensions and pay raises over recent years.

But, as the public learned recently, most of the board’s private meeting time in September was spent discussing a 10-page investigative report containing accusations from numerous school district employees that Slayman threatened them, bullied them and asked them to lie to school board members.

Through her attorney, Slayman has denied the claims. The consultant who conducted the investigation and interviewed the former superintendent wrote in her September report that Slayman “either denied or attempted to explain the alleged conduct and comments. She did admit she had said on maybe two occasions that she would kill someone. She stated that she can ‘fix’ the situation.”

Adding to the gravity of the situation, it appears the seven-member school board was, at times, nearly split over whether the employee allegations were valid. The board apparently also never found consensus over whether Slayman should have been allowed to come back to work after the investigation and whether the district should pay her two years’ salary upon resigning.

Vice Chairwoman Sandra Stroman has said she was “heartbroken” by Slayman’s departure and she “reluctantly” voted with the majority of the board to accept the superintendent’s resignation. She blamed newspaper reports and “anonymous attacks and leaks” for harming Slayman’s reputation.

But Lawson said she believes employees told the truth during interviews with the consultant.

Now, with an interim superintendent on the job in Chester and the search for a permanent replacement to begin soon, Lawson said she wants the district to heal and the school board to earn back any trust lost by parents over recent weeks.

“We’re going to move forward; we’re not going backward,” she said. “The initiatives that we had in place, they’re still there. And we’re still focusing on the future and giving each of our students the very best that we can give them – that hasn’t changed.”

People have been hurt, Lawson said, by what the consultant described as a “harassing” work environment under a superintendent who “lost the trust and respect of her team to the point that she cannot be an effective leader.”

Lawson said she understands parents’ frustration over the Chester school board’s frequent September meetings, with little explanation given for the private conversations or for Slayman’s nearly three-week “personal leave.” Still, she said, the privacy was needed as the district was dealing with personnel matters and the possible legal claims discussed by employees who worked for Slayman.

“Anything that hurts this district hurts the children,” Lawson said, adding that district business and student learning went on despite what she called the board’s “methodical,” weekslong deliberations over the superintendent’s future last month.

“Teachers are going to keep teaching, and cafeteria people are going to still serve food. The buses are still going to run and the custodians are still going to clean our schools. ... They’ve still been moving. We’ve been at a standstill but the district has still been moving.”

The school board later this fall will start the search for a new superintendent, aiming to make a hire by the start of the next school year.

“We’re going to look for the absolute best candidate we can,” Lawson said.

This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Chester school board decisions stressful; it’s time for district to heal, chairwoman says."