NEWS

Stubblebine to resign when contract ends

Craig Shoup
Reporter

CLYDE - The Clyde-Green Springs Board of Education accepted Superintendent David Stubblebine's resignation at a special board meeting Monday night.

Within four minutes of calling the meeting to order, the board accepted Stubblebine's resignation, which is effective when his contract ends July 31.

He did not speak at the special meeting, and the board quickly went into executive session to discuss personnel matters. There was no public action to follow the closed session.

Stubblebine provided no reason for his resignation, nor for making it effective when his contract expires.

In an email sent to school employees, he said he will miss working with them and that his public resignation will allow board members time to search for a replacement.

"Since superintendent searches can be a months-long endeavor, I thought the right thing to do was to tell them now. I expect the board search to begin in the next month or two," Stubblebine wrote in the email.

In his email, Stubblebine shared some achievements during his tenure, highlighting the implementation of all-day kindergarten and helping to guide the school district into becoming a leader in academics, technology and community service.

"Just like a lame-duck politician, I expect to finish the year out strong, and I expect nothing to change," the superintendent said in the email.

Stubblebine’s tenure has been marred by controversy since he was hired as superintendent in August 2013, after  serving in the same role at Monroeville Local Schools.

In November 2014, the school board reprimanded him for engaging in a romantic relationship with McPherson Middle School Principal Rachel Aldrich, who reported directly to him, without notifying the board of the conflict of interest.

In the reprimand, the board ruled Stubblebine violated board policies 2.01 and 3.05 by engaging in the relationship with an administrator he directly supervises and evaluates.

The district hired a digital forensic investigations firm and enlisted help of legal counsel to inspect Stubblebine's district-supplied computers, equipment and email service for evidence of unprofessional communication with Aldrich, according to the reprimand.

Investigators informed the board that no evidence of misconduct was found with Aldrich.

As part of the reprimand, the board informed Stubblebine he would not have any part in evaluating Aldrich's job performance in the future, and was told to keep board members informed of any conflicts of interest.

In June, Stubblebine went on trial in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing official business, which was dismissed by Judge John Kolesar.

Clyde police Chief Bruce Gower had charged Stubblebine earlier in 2015 after a school official called Clyde police on Dec. 12 and reported that marijuana was found in a backpack at McPherson Middle School. The school official asked that police send drug dogs to the school.

When police arrived, school officials — who report to Stubblebine — would not let them interview students or investigate.

In dismissing the charge, Kolesar said there was no evidence that Stubblebine had committed a crime.  He said school officials were not obligated to give Clyde police the names of the students they believed were involved in bringing the drugs to school and passing them around because the students were juveniles and the amount of marijuana involved, about 19 grams, warranted a misdemeanor charge, not a felony.

"Had this been a situation with an adult offender and the offense was in fact a felony, then the result might be different," Kolesar wrote in his decision.

Gower said the problem was that Clyde-Green Springs Schools reported the crime to Clyde police but did not let them investigate it.

Kolesar urged Clyde school officials and Clyde police to work through their problems.

cshoup@gannett.com

419-334-1035

Twitter: CraigShoupNH