DREYFOOS CASE COMES TO END; BOARD AWARDS OSTROSKY $200,000; APRIL
RESIGNATION ALSO RESCINDED
By Lois K. Solomon Education Writer Staff Writer Kathy Bushouse contributed to
this report.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Copyright 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003
LOCAL
Informational boxes at end of text.
Unraveling one strand of the tangled Dreyfoos School of the Arts
saga,
the School Board agreed on Monday to award former principal Amelia
Ostrosky $200,000 and rescind her April resignation.
As part of the settlement, Ostrosky admitted no wrongdoing, nor
did
Superintendent Art Johnson, who demoted her to Jupiter Middle School
principal in June 2001. The transfer set off a chain of investigations,
lawsuits, court battles and produced a 6,000-page report, which
has yet
to be released in its entirety.
Ostrosky will be reinstated as a school district employee retroactive
to April 4 and through Aug. 31 of this year. This will allow her
to get
her full pension, which she was about one year short of when she
resigned. She would have gotten about $18,000 a year at the time
of her
resignation; now she can get about $40,000 a year, said her attorney,
Judy Hyman.
The board approved the settlement, paid for by the district's
insurance company, without having read the detailed report Johnson
commissioned to investigate Ostrosky's tenure at Dreyfoos. That
report,
which remains sealed because of lawsuits, combined with Monday's
settlement brings the cost of the case to at least $750,000.
School Board Chairman Tom Lynch said the board approved the settlement
to eliminate a distraction that has taken up much of its time during
the
past year and a half.
"We wanted to get it over with," Lynch said. "She
is no longer an
employee and it's time to move on."
Board members Debra Robinson and Paulette Burdick agreed.
"This was a business decision," Burdick said. "We
had teachers,
parents, students and the community at large wanting us to settle."
Board member Sandra Richmond said she had no comment. Other board
members left school district headquarters immediately after Monday
night's quick decision.
"This settlement says to me I'm cleared," Ostrosky said.
"Although
money can't repay what's been done to a person, this is finally
resolved
and behind me."
Ostrosky said she is not concerned about the release of the report
because most of the district's allegations have already come out.
Some
have charged that grades at the school were unfairly changed and
the
admissions process was inequitable. Others deal more personally
with
Ostrosky's character, including whether she dressed unprofessionally
and
acted in a lewd manner at parties.
While Monday's settlement ends the dispute between Ostrosky and
the
district, other legal battles remain.
Some teachers mentioned in the report have sued the district over
its
contents. They were allowed to see the sections of the report in
which
they were named.
A judge ruled in January that the report should become public except
for the names of students with disabilities mentioned in the text.
But
the school district filed an appeal saying all students' names should
be
kept private.
The settlement allows Ostrosky to respond to the report. That response
and only portions of the report deemed to be "founded"
will be sent to
the Department of Education, accompanied by a letter from Johnson
stating that "the conduct in question does not rise to a level
which
would warrant suspension, termination or revocation" of Ostrosky's
certification.
Two administrators who sued to see the report also settled with
the
district along with Ostrosky. Scott Blake, an assistant principal,
and
Ethel Craddock, a special-education coordinator, will be allowed
to
review unedited portions of the report in which they appear and
they
will be allowed to respond as part of the report.
Ostrosky worked for the school district for 29 years. In 1999, she
became principal of Dreyfoos, a prestigious performing arts high
school
in West Palm Beach. When she was demoted in 2001, about 400 supporters
turned out at a school board meeting to oppose the decision.
Johnson launched the investigation about the same time he moved
Ostrosky. Although he has never given specific reasons for the demotion,
many saw the transfer as revenge because Ostrosky, formerly head
of the
county's principals' association, did not support Johnson when he
was a
principal embroiled in a discipline scandal.
Burdick said many school district observers are deeply upset by
the
cost of the investigation and the amount of time spent on it.
"After the investigation is released, we will look at processes
to put
in place so this doesn't happen again," she said.
Staff Writer Kathy Bushouse contributed to this report.
Lois Solomon can be reached at lsolomon@sun-sentinel.com or
561-243-6536.
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH IN THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
PHOTOS 2
Staff photo/Nicholas R. von Staden
Overseeing: Superintendent of Palm Beach county schools, Art Johnson,
calls for
a vote from the school board on the legal settlement with Amelia
Ostrosky.