NORWICH – Nineteen staff members are accusing an administrator in the Norwich City School District of verbal abuse, sexual harassment and professional misconduct, according to documents filed last month with the Board of Education.
The group, made up of 16 tenured teachers and three support staff members from the Middle School, are asking that Principal Lisa Schuchman be fired before the end of the school year for what they’re calling ongoing “vulgar,” “vindictive” and “unprofessional” behavior.
Included in the 45 pages of complaints obtained Monday by The Evening Sun are allegations that Schuchman on numerous occasions has used profanity in front of students and staff, humiliated faculty members and used obscene gestures.
Schuchman and several school board members would not comment on the complaints or the meeting, referring the matter instead, to Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan.
“This is an internal personnel matter that I’m not going to discuss in the newspaper,” O’Sullivan said Tuesday morning, adding, “It’s part of my responsibility to look into the matter.”
Teacher Lucinda Jones read a statement at the last Board of Education meeting asking that they set up a time to meet with the 19 staff members. O’Sullivan was chosen by the school board to take up the matter. Jones and fellow middle school teacher Adam Everitt met with him Monday.
“Representatives from the Norwich Middle School faculty met with Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan today to discuss a packet of faculty and staff testimonials that address concerns affecting middle school students, parents and faculty community,” read a statement released Monday by group representatives Matt Maholchic and Lorry Chwasik. “Lucinda Jones and Adam Everitt expressed their concerns about the principal’s behavior affecting the educational process due to inappropriate conduct.”
The statement added: “Faculty and staff would like to re-affirm our resolve and request to be working free from an administrator who ... creates an intimidating and hostile work environment.”
O’Sullivan said that under Schuchman, the middle school’s test scores have risen “drastically” and said that parents are “happy with the communication and reports they’ve received from the middle school.”
O’Sullivan added that the concerns raised by the middle school teachers and staff, sent out in a packet signed by all 19 faculty to him and the school board, are yet considered formal. “There’s a process for that,” he said, referring to the teacher’s contractual agreements. “No one has filed a formal complaint.”
As of yet, the issue does not qualify as a formal contract or union complaint, according to Paul Read, the union representative for the school.
“The people complained to the Board of Education and superintendent regarding Ms. Schuchman’s behavior,” said Read. “They complained formally, they complained in writing as teachers from the middle school.”
The teachers said they will begin filing formal sexual harassment complaints today with the state Division of Human Rights.
Schuchman is up for tenure review this fall. The teachers claim she violated, or has attempted to violate, laws and rules pertaining to privacy, work place rights and district disciplinary protocol, citing numerous incidents throughout their testimonials, several of which were unsigned.
One involved Schuchman posting the grades of students who were failing at a full faculty meeting, what some felt was a violation of federal laws protecting student and family privacy rights.
Others allege that she humiliates staff when they disagree with her or ask her to make changes to policy. Numerous instances were cited in which the principal allegedly indiscreetly used vulgarity in the vicinity of students and faculty, and even over school communications systems.
O’Sullivan called the complaints a distraction, stating that his first priority is making sure “students are taken care of in the building that education is going on in the classrooms ... this is a distraction.”