Chairs ask Manatee schools to reinstate Gagnon
We address the Community as the last five chairpersons of the School Advisory Council at Manatee High School. In this role, we worked closely with Bob Gagnon, one of the best educators and leaders in any Manatee County school. From the start, Bob's focus was the education and safety of our students. He immediately instilled discipline and leadership at MHS. His approach showed excellent results, and MHS went from a C to an A school in his first year as principal. The teachers, students and parents admired his educational abilities and were happy to have a capable principal leading MHS.
In 2013, false allegations were made against Bob claiming he failed to protect students at MHS. Despite relying on a flawed investigative report, the school board suspended Bob and allowed the then-superintendent to non-renew Bob's employment (which violated his contract). There were obviously bigger political issues at play that contributed to the situation. Since then, Bob was completely cleared in administrative proceedings, acquitted of all criminal charges and passed a polygraph test.
It has been 2.5 years since Bob has been allowed to use his skills for the benefit of our students, and his reputation is unjustly in tatters. He is still mired in litigation related to his termination and the damage to his reputation and career is irreparable. He has found it difficult to find a similar leadership position in education with this black cloud hanging over his career. It is well past the time to correct this injustice. We urge the board to do the right thing, to restore Bob to a leadership position in the District and to fairly compensate him for the damage done to his life and career. Our district created this situation, and we ask the board to correct it as soon as possible.
Kim Johnson, Brigitte McCarthy, Julie Rothfeld, Scott Bassett, Doug Hall, Manatee High School
Current and former school advisory committee chairpersons
Manatee County
This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Chairs ask Manatee schools to reinstate Gagnon ."