Despite the fact that school is out for summer, 50 parents protesting the dismissal of James Flanagan, the school's long-time principal, held another vigil last night in front of Saint Saviour, a Park Slope Catholic elementary school.
"Not
bad given the heavy rain at the beginning of it," one parent wrote in an email to OTBKB. "I have it on a great source that a letter is going out either today
or tomorrow (unless the Diocese stops him) announcing the new principal."
Rumor has it that the job is going to a friend of Fr. Murphy's, who
recently lost her job at Beth Elohim. I assume this person was employed by Beth Elohim Early Childhood
Center, a local nursery
school/kindergarten program run by Congregation Beth Elohim, a reform Jewish congregation in Park Slope.
But the plot thickens. In an article in today's Daily News, the paper quotes from six pages of complaints against the principal penned by Fr. Murphy:
complimentary ticket," Murphy wrote in six pages of complaints against
the principal about the $200 he had to shell out for the March 2007 and
October 2008 events.
Murphy also complained he had never
received financial reports about the galas, and that Flanagan had
spoken publicly about using some of the funds raised as an endowment
without consulting him or the school's finance committee.
Murphy denied those issues prompted Flanagan's dismissal, saying that it came down to an "erosion of trust" between them.
"You
can't renew the contract of someone who's lost trustworthiness and has
shown by his actions some insubordination," Murphy said.
One parent who saw the news article responded in this way: This is despicable, and I knew he had no "vision." You would
think a pastor would be happy that we raised $90,000 for the school –
not bad for a fired principal and some "small group" of parents."
Principal Flanagan told the Daily News that the decision not to send Fr. Murphy a personalized invitation was not his. He also said that he told the pastor about the $90,000 raised by the gala that is being used to renovate the school's library.
Mr. Flanagan has asked the Diocese for a mediation but a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Diocese told the Daily News that the matter was "off the table."
Why? Because the pastor has final word on hiring and firing of school principals.
.
It’s easy to see why Father Murphy chose Maura O’Donnell Lorenzen. She is on every decision making committee at the church and was even on the School Finance Committee, even though none of her children have ever attended St. Saviour Elementary. There was a parent meeting a few years ago where Father Murphy floated the idea of dramatic increases in tuition. Mrs. Lorenzen was present but silent. Talk about conflict of interest! Apparently the parental outcry was so enormous that he revised his increase to be much lower (and our school budget remained balanced!)
It seems as though Father Murphy didn’t cast his net very wide in searching for a replacement principal……Had he only waited one more year and allowed Mr. Flanagan to retire gracefully, we wouldn’t be in this mess!
Shame on the Bishop and the diocese for allowing this disgraceful behavior of a priest go unnoticed and unchecked for many years. Who are Fr. Murphy’s experts in deciding who the principal will be? Who did he consult – I’m sure none of the parents who send their children to SSES. This is like the 1950’s and 60’s all over again except it is not about sexual abuse, it is about abuse of pastoral power. What a shame that the Bishop of Brooklyn,the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens, St. Saviour’s Parish Council have closed their eyes to this despicable behavior. What an unChristian way to treat Mr. Flanagan who has devoted the last 25 years to St.Saviour’s Elementary School! How do we recover ….?
The principal of a school spanning grades Pre-K through 8th Grade has an enormous responsibility. Will the new principal know anything about Standardized Testing required starting in 4th grade? Working with the Board of Education on the Title I Programs? Obtaining NY State funding funding from Albany? The financial management of the building?
If it is the person rumored to be getting the job, her background is in Early Childhood Education, not Elementary Education. Is Fr. Murphy, who has never refuted claims that he has not stepped into the school for 2 years, familiar with the necessary qualifications for running a middle school? Is she going to get training on the rules and regulations of the Catholic School Office? School starts in 10 weeks – without a leader with the proper qualifications and necessary background how can Fr. Murphy expect the school to succeed?