Auburn teacher escorted off campus, placed on leave
Andrew Boyce
By Jim Hagerty
Staff Writer
An Auburn High School special education teacher was placed on administrative leave Thursday, March 17, after being escorted off the campus, the teacher confirmed this afternoon.
Andrew Boyce, who also coaches the Auburn girls’ track team, was met by Principal Dr. Kye Gaffey and Executive Director of Schools Earl Hernandez at 2:30 p.m. Thursday and told he was to leave the school immediately.
“I was getting ready to get on the bus to go to the conference track meet tonight,” Boyce said. “I then heard my name (over the security radio). I went to Kye’s office and Earl Hernandez was already sitting there. They took my keys, walked me to get my things and escorted me to my car.”
While an official reason for placing the teacher on leave hasn’t been announced, Boyce said he knows what’s behind the measure.
Boyce has been vocal about his stand against school closings, program cuts and the leadership style of Superintendent Dr. LaVonne M. Sheffield. He has expressed some of that frustration through posts on Facebook.
“They have been investigating me for the past two months,” Boyce said. “They can’t really find anything so they are now using things I am putting on Facebook.”
Early Thursday, Boyce posted a comment on the social networking site regarding the suspension of Beyer Principal David Sanders. Sanders was placed on administrative leave earlier this week for restraining an unruly student.
Boyce disagrees with the move.
“Sanders used a CPI move–something he was trained to do,” Boyce said. “And now he’s out on administrative leave.”
Boyce is also filming a documentary about failing school systems and is the creator of the Facebook page, “Rock Bottom–Schools That Don’t Work.”
“They basically want me out of the buildings,” Boyce said. “Now that I am out there with Facebook, the administration wants to cut any ties I have with people.”
Boyce said he has done nothing to warrant a paid leave. He is also not going to remain silent about what he calls poor district leadership.
District 205 officials would not comment on the investigation.
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Comments made on Facebook regarding an employer, if not untrue, have been ruled as “protected speech” and can’t be used as the basis to fire an employee. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/business/09facebook.html?_r=1
When is enough enough? When will 4 of the 7 school board members that call Rockford home take a stand? When will the people of Rockford say no more bullying, no more reckless spending, no more Sheffield. When?
The poorest in Rockford benefit from Early Childhood Development. First we are told that the program funding is going away so we need to eliminate the program. Now that that is proven to not be the case, Sheffield says, “So even if we go for a grant I have to determine if I want it because I’m going to have to underwrite it at some point,” says Dr. Sheffield”
These are OUR schools and OUR children. Sheffield acts like it will come out of her personal checkbook. She will walk away from Rockford earning around a million dollars after her contract expires.
What an embarrassment she is for Rockford. Does anyone else notice how everything Sheffield CLAIMS she is for gets taken away. And the things she pretends to stand up against seems to remain.
When is enough enough? When sports are eliminated? When honors classes are eliminated? When all the money has REALLY been spent? When?
Sheffield must see that her time is limited in this district and is at a point that she’s going to hurt as many people as she can, including the students, no matter what the cost. Even throwing this bum to the curb is not going to remedy the damage she has brought to this district with her hidden agenda, her bullying tactics, her obvious intimidation moves, her half truths, her mismanagement style of leadership, along with those in “power” with her. All of them should be removed and then the board needs to thoroughly investigate what just happened to us with this little experiment called The Broad Institute. Tuesday night at the board meeting I am fully expecting her to make huge cuts into the tenured ranks of teachers with some lame and unfounded reasoning just because she can. She has already laid off 1/4 of the teaching staff and I don’t think her furry is done or her appetite for retribution has been meet. I expect her to lay off as many teachers as she can get away with and then she will again blame it all on the union and their unwillingness to make compensations in the contract, even though contract talks have yet to begin. Now that she has been called to task by the mayor she will practice a scorch and burn mentality in taking down this district and sadly 3 of the current board members will follow her on this path without question. We so very much deserve better than this but until the numbers of people showing up to the board meetings doubles, triples, quadruples, I don’t think it will make an impact. Cut our losses and pay her off and escort her to the exit the same way she has done to many of the loyal staff members that have a vested interest in the Rockford School District. Give her the same exact treatment she has given those people. She needs to learn that you can’t treat people like they are less than you simply because they disagree with you.
I agree with all of these comments. When, pray tell, is enough enough? The WEE group met with Bob Evans awhile back and he said that he would know when Sheffield “crossed the line in the sand”! Really??? If the devastation she has caused thus far isn’t enough, then what on earth is? Also his unwillingness to answer phone calls and emails is absolutely unacceptable. He needs to leave town with DLS…and the sooner the better.
Pls expand on your advise that he and DLS leave town asap. thanks and is that Wee’s position or just yours??