Hudson principal retires after his position is eliminated
HUDSON — A Hudson City School District principal has resigned after he was told his position would be cut when the district merges its intermediate and primary schools in September.
Steve Spicer has served as an assistant principal of the Hudson City School District for 16 years. For the past seven years, he’s served as principal of John L. Edwards Primary School at 360 State St.
Spicer, 56, will be eligible to collect his retirement benefits after Aug. 31, when his resignation becomes effective.
The departure of Spicer, who is black, will leave an all-white administrative staff at the helm of Columbia County’s most diverse school district.
“My only regret in retirement is that the most diverse school district in Columbia County will no longer have any school administrators of color,” Spicer said. “And with Dr. Suttmeier and this school board having no specific plans or programs in place for future minority leadership recruitment, there won’t be any hope of another school principal of color in Hudson for many years to come.”
After Edwards closes this summer, pre-K, kindergarten and first-grade students will be housed in a new wing of the Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School, which is under construction.
With the closing of the elementary school, Spicer decided to resign after district administrators told him his position was being eliminated from the district on March 26, he said Thursday. He submitted his resignation April 26.
School Superintendent Maria Suttmeier and the school board gave Spicer an ultimatum to submit a letter of resignation, or he would be dismissed on June 30, which would cause him to lose his health care plan and summer salary, he said.
Spicer’s position would have been eliminated effective June 30, 2018, Suttmeier said Thursday.
“The district has for some time, dating back to the 2015-2016 school year, made it known to the public that through the capital project, John L. Edwards would be closed at the end of the 2017-2018 school year,” Suttmeier said in a statement. “As a result, in order to ensure that our taxpayers are only paying for what is absolutely necessary, an elementary principal position was to be abolished.
“There is no dispute, and in fact, Mr. Spicer’s union representatives have agreed that he is the least senior elementary principal, and therefore, his position was to be abolished pursuant to New York Education Law 3013,” Suttmeier added.
Spicer did not want to retire, he said.
“I am going to miss working with the children who I love very much and the teachers and the staff and their families,” Spicer said.
The district will merge the primary and Montgomery C. Smith intermediate schools as part of the final stage of its $19.9 million capital project. Pre-K through fifth-grade students will attend the intermediate school, at 102 Harry Howard Ave., starting in September.
Second-grade students were moved to the intermediate school last September. After Edwards is closed, the building will be put up for sale.
“I would have also liked to have been here to help the children and families to get through the transition that is ahead,” Spicer said Thursday.
When district administrators informed Spicer the board will eliminate his position, Spicer, speaking through his union attorney, requested to retire, Suttmeier said.
“The district graciously agreed to allow Mr. Spicer to retire on Aug. 31, 2018, which allows him two additional months of employment and retiree benefits under the collective bargaining agreement with the Hudson Administrators Association,” the superintendent said.
In the district’s 2018-19 budget talks, school board members considered having one elementary principal, one associate principal and one dean of students, or having one elementary principal and two associate principals.
On March 12, Spicer appealed to the Hudson City School Board of Education asking to stay employed for one more year to help the students’ transition to Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School.
After leaving the district in August, Spicer will be a consultant to school districts that want to improve the cultural diversity of their staffs, he said.
To reach reporter Amanda Purcell, call 518-828-1616 ext. 2500, or send an email to apurcell@thedailymail.net, or tweet to @amandajpurcell.
Comments
This is an outrageous act supported by both Ms. Suttmeier and the entire BOE. It's illegal and underhanded, but why would that matter to them at this point. It's a road well traveled for them. I trhought they'd learned their lesson, apparently NOT!
Spicer's attempts of fulfilling personal and financial agendas at the expense of our district's reputation continue to be toxic to the school community and disheartening to parents and tax payers.
Has the General public seen this nonsense??? This is a cry for attention from a man who know every fast food location on the east coast.
Dr. Suttmeier,
On 4/17 after informing you that I was on my way to an emergency room, in desperate fear of a stroke or heart-attack, I was shocked to open your email stating that, even though you knew, I was critically ill, if I delayed in delivering a promised retirement letter on that day, that you and the board would move ahead with a resolution to excess or fire me on June 30th (see emails attached). It was our agreement that in leu of being excessed or fired in June, I would provide an August letter of resignation on this day. But being in an emergency room very close to a stroke or heart attack, there was no possible way for me to get this letter to you, that day. I honestly believe that if it was any other district employee you would have simply told them, "I will immediately postpone all action regarding your retirement until you are well again. Just get better." But in reality, your email was closer to, "Sorry to hear about your impending stroke, but without your retirement letter, the district and I will be moving forward with a resolution, tonight, to excess or fire you on June 30th." As you recall I had to actually email you a picture of me in a hospital gown, in an ER bay, hooked up to an I-V and EKG machine before you would decide to delay board action. The desert of compassion I felt laying in that ER, all alone and struggling to write emails to save my position, was overwhelmingly depressive.
It was awful to be in an ER and be threaten with termination, but then I was completely devastated to read the comments in the Register Star, from I believe retired ALP Principal, Tom Gavin who stated "The Superintendent spoke often about how she'd like to get rid of Mr. Spicer on more than one occasion." Dr. Suttmeier, you have never actually denied saying to Tom Gavin or other administrators that, "You would like to get rid of Mr. Spicer." A specific, unequivocal denial like "I never told Tom Gavin or anyone that I wanted to or wished to get rid of Mr. Spicer," or a sincere apology would have sufficed, but neither of these was ever forwarded to me.
To conclude a 32-year career in education and 16 years of administrative service for the HCSD under such a cloud of disregard and disrespect is so disheartening. I just don’t think the events in this email represent the quality of compassion I have experience over the years, from the teachers and families of the Hudson City School District.
Everyone - Anyone deserves better than this,
Mr. Spicer