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3 principals: Ransaw has lost our respect

Once admirers of the former Powell Middle principal suspended last year, old colleagues say they can't work with him now.

By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published November 3, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - From the moment they saw his resume, principals in Hernando County admired Michael Ransaw.

Tizzy Schoelles, the principal at Nature Coast Technical High School, who interviewed Ransaw for an opening at her school, testified Wednesday that she "agonized over the fact that I couldn't take advantage of the skills he brought."

Her husband, Fox Chapel Middle School principal David Schoelles, acknowledged during testimony on Tuesday that he admired Ransaw's work as principal at Powell Middle School enough to send staffers to study the instructional techniques there. After learning last year that Ransaw had been suspended from his job, Schoelles said he expressed his condolences to him in a phone conversation.

And Pine Grove Elementary principal Dave Dannemiller, who hired Ransaw as his assistant principal in 2002, testified Wednesday that "he was fine (at the job). He was on top of things."

Among many parents and educators, Ransaw seemed to be an energetic principal, infusing new life into Powell Middle School. He vowed to raise FCAT scores and cracked down on misbehaving kids.

Now all three of those principals who once admired Ransaw want him gone. They have testified that they could not work with him if the charges brought by superintendent Wendy Tellone are true. And they aren't sure whether he could be an effective principal even if the charges are ultimately dismissed.

All three principals took the stand during the first two days of Ransaw's hearing before Administrative Law Judge E.J. Davis, a legal proceeding that could determine Ransaw's future. Davis will issue findings of fact and a recommended order after the hearing, which is scheduled to continue through Tuesday. School Board members must decide whether to carry out her order.

When Ransaw's attorney, Willie Jones, asked Dannemiller whether his client could be effective if the charges are proved wrong, he didn't get a reassuring answer.

"I could not give a definitive no, but I would have some serious questions to that," Dannemiller replied. "The effectiveness of that person was affected. It would be very difficult (even if the charges were disproved). It would be a very difficult thing to do."

On Tuesday, when asked whether he still trusted Ransaw, Fox Chapel principal Schoelles said he "would not have any level of professional respect, or personal respect, quite frankly, (for Ransaw)."

As his former colleagues said they doubted his ability to work again as a principal, Ransaw did not appear daunted. He scribbled notes, swiveled in his chair and whispered to his attorney.

Ransaw, 36, has been fighting district officials since last November, when Tellone suspended him after learning of a state investigation that found he had pawned a laptop while working as an assistant principal in Broward County.

Hernando officials say Ransaw and his references in Broward never disclosed the laptop incident. They also say Ransaw did not tell them all he knew about the subsequent investigation by state education officials and deleted documents and files, including public records. Also, Ransaw is accused of lying on his resume.

Barbara Kidder, the district's director of labor relations and professional standards, gave detailed testimony Wednesday that suggested Ransaw had provided Hernando school officials with misleading resumes that disguised his demotion from assistant principal to guidance counselor in Broward County. Kidder also testified that Ransaw had failed to notify Hernando officials about the state inquiry and demotion in Broward as recently as the fall of 2004.

Kidder once admired Ransaw enough to invite him to serve on the district's recruiting team and collective bargaining team. But she testified on Wednesday that she now finds Ransaw "not truthful."

For the past two days, Karen Gaffney, who is prosecuting Ransaw for the school district, has produced witnesses such as Kidder to detail how Ransaw may have misled Hernando administrators. Jones, Ransaw's attorney, has tried to cast doubt on the authority of such witnesses.

In an administrative law proceeding, the burden of proof falls on the school district to show that administrators reacted properly in recommending Ransaw's termination. Judge Davis could find Ransaw was treated unfairly.

But the first two days of testimony have made clear how far Ransaw has fallen in the eyes of his colleagues in just one year.

According to Dannemiller's testimony, Tizzy Schoelles of Nature Coast recommended Ransaw to him because Ransaw was "an excellent candidate" who didn't quite fit into the job opening she had. But Schoelles testified Wednesday that she couldn't trust Ransaw even if a judge finds him wronged by school administrators.

"Proven or disproven," Schoelles said, "I question his veracity."

Abhi Raghunathan can be reached at araghunathan@sptimes.com or 352 848-1431.

[Last modified November 3, 2005, 01:06:17]