Published: July 18, 2008 04:58 pm      

Konawa principal fired

Konawa — Konawa High School Principal Gary Stidham was fired early Tuesday by the Konawa school board at the conclusion of a termination hearing lasting over eight hours.

The hearing was a result of Konawa superintendent Don Sjoberg’s recommendation that Stidham’s contract of employment be terminated.

Sjoberg’s recommendation came as a surprise considering the school board had renewed Stidham’s contract with the school in February. According to Stidham, no mention of any unsatisfactory performance was made by the school board.

Sjoberg said he was recommending the termination because Stidham showed a lack of “structural leadership” and a “loss of confidence.” Sjoberg told the board he had presented Stidham with a memo in February of 2008 outlining areas Sjoberg felt Stidham needed to improve upon.

Sjoberg indicated Stidham’s response to his memo was insufficient, resulting in an unsatisfactory evaluation and Sjoberg’s recommendation to the board to terminate Stidham’s contract.

The decision to fire Stidham came after almost five hours of open testimony and over three hours of executive session.

The final vote to fire Stidham was three ayes (Tammy Tooley, Kevin Duck and Rod Bronniman) to two nays (Dennis Auld and Shane O’Dell). During the hearing Stidham told board members that if they were unsatisfied with his performance as principal, he would tender his resignation.

He asked the board pass a resolution asking for his resignation, and said that his resignation would be forthcoming if they asked for it.

“I don’t want the board to muddy his name when it is not necessary ... A simple resolution is all that is needed” said attorney Ron Stakem, who represented Stidham at the hearing.

The hearing kicked off Monday at 7:30 p.m. and was originally scheduled to take place at the school board room.

The venue was moved to the school’s multi-purpose room to better accommodate the crowd of almost 60 onlookers who were in attendance.

Asked if he would seek to appeal the school board’s decision, Stidham indicated he is instead moving on with his life. “At this point, I am interviewing for other positions, and will make decisions based on those opportunities,” said the former Konawa principal of more than 10 years.

Asked for comment on the decision, Sjoberg said he would release his official statement via press release.

The press release will be available at www.adaeveningnews.com.