Highlands superintendent testifies as hearing on principal's demotion gets underway

A hearing on the demotion of a Highlands School District administrator got underway Monday night, with the administration publicly beginning to lay out its case for demoting former principal Samantha Perlik to kindergarten teacher.

Perlik had asked for the hearing be held publicly instead of behind closed doors. The school board moved the hearing from the high school library to the larger auditorium to accommodate the crowd. It was adjourned after four hours, with Highlands Solicitor Trish Andrews still questioning the district’s first witness, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney.

In her testimony, Mawhinney detailed the actions she took when she became superintendent, and the expectations she set for building principals.

“When I came on board, we were a failing district,” said Mawhinney, who started at Highlands as assistant superintendent in April 2018 and formally became superintendent, replacing Michael Bjalobok, in April 2019 after serving for a time as substitute superintendent.

Before being demoted to teacher, Perlik was first transferred from principal of the district’s elementary school to the Early Childhood Center in January 2020.

Mawhinney said her goal in doing so was to be supportive of Perlik and place her in a position where she could be successful. She said Perlik was not succeeding as elementary principal, and had expressed being overwhelmed.

While Perlik was elementary principal, Mawhinney testified that she received complaints about Perlik’s performance, including not responding to parent calls and emails, and issues with bullying, discipline and student misbehavior in school and on buses.

Mawhinney said she expected Perlik to start a program to immediately address behavior problems on buses, but she said she did not. Perlik also did not start a tutoring program at the elementary school for the 2019-20 year.

Perlik also did not follow directives to do walk-throughs and observations of classrooms, Mawhinney testified.

Mawhinney said Perlik continued to have problems at the Early Childhood Center, and was not meeting the goals identified in her growth plan.

The defense objects

Perlik’s attorney, Charlie Steele, objected several times during the hearing. He argued that the administration was bringing up accusations that were not stated in the charges and he was therefore not prepared to defend.

He also accused Mawhinney of providing “hearsay testimony,” making reference to unidentified people he would not be able to question.

Steele said Perlik’s performance in the 2018-19 school year should not be used against her because she received a “proficient” rating for that year. Mawhinney testified that despite the overall rating, there were a number of areas in which Perlik was marked as needing to improve.

Steele argued that Perlik was successful as a teacher and an administrator, but was targeted by Mawhinney, who imposed “arbitrary and capricious demands” on her.

To be continued

The hearing is scheduled to continue Sept. 8. A time had not been set as of Monday night.

“I just think it’s all unfair. I’ve never met a person with more integrity,” Kim Griffith, a retired custodian in the district, said of Perlik.

Many in the audience wore red and black to show support for Perlik. Perlik said she did not know why those colors were chosen.

“It’s overwhelming, in a positive way,” Perlik said. “The support I have received has been amazing. I’m thankful to have those relationships and support.”