Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 20, 1993 TAG: 9307200494
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURA WILLIAMSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Harris said he had taken disciplinary action against Shepherd but would recommend to the School Board that the principal keep his job. Harris would not say how Shepherd had been disciplined.
"It's my view that we need to move forward for the children," he said.
As he has repeatedly, Shepherd declined to comment.
He has been charged with failure to report suspected child abuse, a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine. Shepherd is accused of failing to tell Child Protective Services that four teachers came to him April 27 concerned about a girl who arrived at school with bruises on her face.
The child's mother was charged with assault after a relative reported the case later that day.
Virginia law requires principals and others who come into contact with children on a regular basis to report suspected abuse "immediately."
The courts will decide Shepherd's case Aug. 3. But regardless of the outcome, Harris said, his recommendation to the board won't change.
"The courts could take a totally different action," said Harris, adding that the administrative and legal cases were "totally separate in my view."
Harris, who became superintendent July 1, said he took action following completion of an administrative investigation ordered by the School Board.
The investigation apparently was the second into Shepherd's case. School Board members demanded it after the previous administration, under former Superintendent Frank Tota, failed to issue a report of its findings. Before he left June 30, board members called on Tota to complete his investigation and issue a report, a task he passed on to Harris.
The board does not have to approve his decision to discipline Shepherd, Harris said. But it does have to vote on whether to reappoint Shepherd as principal.
It will do so at its Aug. 10 meeting, School Board member Don Poff said. Poff plans to vote in favor of reassigning Shepherd to Hurt Park.
Shepherd's contract already has been renewed but he is without an assignment.
Other School Board members could not be reached for comment or did not return phone calls Monday. Several already had left for the Governor's Conference on Education in Richmond, which is scheduled for today.
by CNB