UPDATE The principal of Kings Highway Elementary School (KHS) and several staff members will be absent for the next few days because of unspecified “allegations,” Westport Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer told parents today in emails.
KHS Principal Mary Lou DiBella: unexplained absence. Westport Schools photo
In a second of two afternoon emails on the subject, Palmer said she could not disclose the nature of the allegations but that those involved had been “placed on paid administrative leave, without prejudice” while the district reviewed the allegations “regarding recent events.”
She said the district was obligated “to follow prescribed protocols when we receive such information, even before we have reviewed such allegations.”
The development came as school officials scrambled to come up with a short and long-range plan to accommodate Coleytown Middle School students following the mold-caused closure of their school.
And it recalled the February 2017 removal of Long Lots Elementary Principal Jeffrey Golubchick. He was placed on administrative leave for unspecified reasons and later resigned. (See WestportNow April 26, 2017) He is now principal of Greenwood Lake Middle School in Monroe, New York.
“I am reaching out to share with you that your Principal, Dr. Lou DiBella, and several other Kings Highway staff members will not be in the building for at least the next few days,” Palmer said in her first email.
“Your school will continue to operate as usual in the capable hands of Assistant Principal Tracey Carbone, and we have taken additional steps to minimize any disruption that the absence of these staff members may cause.
“At this time, I am not able to share specific information about the absence of these staff members from your building.
“However, I do appreciate that you may have questions and concerns in light of this information. When I have additional information to share, I will notify the school community promptly.”
It was 10 years ago that KHS suffered serious mold issues of its own that led to appointment of a special town committee to deal with the problem.
Four years later, the issues arose again, and it was disclosed that the then superintendent, Elliott Landon, failed to inform the Board of Education, town funding bodies, and the public of the full extent of a $1.65 million expenditure to remediate the problems.
DiBella took over as principal of KHS on July 1, 2016. She had been a principal for 10 years, the five before Westport at the Cabot School in Newton, Massachusetts.
She received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University as well as a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Kansas.
