Little Rock Schools: Wilson Elementary

Arkansas Democrat i^FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5^1999 Ex-principal suing LR district Suit contends he was illegally fired after harassment charge BY SETH BLOMELEY ARKANSAS DE.MOCRAT-GAZETTE The lawyer for a former Little Rock school principal contends his client was fired for sexual-harassment complaints only after desegregation lawyer John Walker was out of the picture. Walker previously represented Franklin Davis, former principal at Wilson Elementary School, fired after several teachers complained in 1997 that he had sexually harassed them. teachers told school district officials that Davis had sexually harassed them. The suit claims these teachers were disgruntled em- ployees who received low evaluations from Davis. These are not teachers that tration. Suellen Vann, spokesman for the school district, said she hasn't seen the suit and cant comment. Walker represents the class of all black students in the 16-year- , old Pulaski County school desegre- went to the school district and said gation lawsuit. hes doing this to us, Hicks said. This district went to the teachers and said, Is he doing this? which is not the process to be followed. Walker was out of town Thursday and unavailable for comment. The suit demands that Davis be Nineteen days after I inherited the case, they terminated . - , . . . , " [Davis] pay, said attorney Rickey School assistant principal. He Hicks. The minute Mr. Walker T , , ,. . paid until the arbitration is con- In December 1997 the district eluded. It also seeks back pay and suspended Davis with pay and re- compensation for financial hard- assigned him as Central High ship and emotional distress. terminated Dec. 1,1998. was Hicks said he did not name the was out of the picture, they terminated his pay. . ___________ Filed late Thursday in Pulaski nine said that our investigation to County Circuit Court, the lawsuit ^nte has developed considerable accuses the district of illegally evidence in support of the allega- terminating Davis, an employee tions. since 1989, without a hearing. F ' __________________ The suit alleges that Davis harassment allegation in the suit. transfer and suspension resulted According to the suit, Davis and from Davis refusing the sexual ad- the School Board agreed to bind- vannae af a fa la arbitration instead of a hear- assistant superintendent who al- In an April 2, 1997, letter to legedly harassed his client be- Davis, Superintendent Les Car- cause he didnt see a need for that kind of embarrassment. During a final hearing those names will be revealed. , He said his client filed a com- Davis doesnt deny the sexual plaint with the School Board over yances of a female assistant superintendent in 1994. The woman is the 1994 sexual advances but no action was forthcoming. Davis fired Walker because he not named in the complaint. the state Teacher Fair Dismissal Three years later, several Act, has yet to submit to the arbi- ___________ felt the case was moving too slowing. But the board, in violation of ly, Hicks said. Davis, 40, is unemployed and living in Conway, Hicks said. SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 2001 3,000 ShareFest volunteers work magic on 22 schools BY AMY SCHLESING softening the hard-dirt play- ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE J ground with sod and river- schools Saturday. Next weekend, ShareFest con- blue paint freckling her face, and Paint fumes filled the halls of smoothed pebbles. Wilson Elementary School on Wilson Elementary was just Rick Caldwell, ShareFest di- tinues with a blood drive Sat- said, What a transformation a rector, estimated the combined urday at Fellowship Bible half-day can make. , Saturday and mixed with the one of 22 Little Rock schools ' buzz of saws and sewing ma- spruced up Saturday in the first ' chines, heralding a new begin- phase of ShareFest, a communi- ning for the 80-year-old school, ty service group of about 100 About 400 people volun- central Arkansas churches, teered at the school, splashing About 44 churches and more value of supplies donated by the Church in Little Rock and a ral- 'We are joining together and churches and labor used at all 22 ly Nov. U at River Market pavil- letting our kids know that our schools exceeded $300,000, ShareFest has become a cat- money for the needy. ions to collect clothes, food and heart is with the community, I! color on its dirty "'hite walls and ti^n 3,000 volunteers worked at I alyst to help churches become Linda Raney stepped back she said. Blake Thompson, a student more engaged in the communi- from an aqua seascape mural she at Southern Baptist Theological ty and with each other, Cald- and several other volunteers Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said j well said. painted on a washroom wall. See SHAREFEST, Page 4P | ShareFest Continued from Page 1B the lesson to be learned from scraped and painted. Many hands make light the load, said Lance Kauffman, ShareFest project coordinator. Lisa Mack, a fourth-grade ShareFest is much bigger. He and teacher at Wilson, spent most of several other seminary students the day pushing a paintbrush and came to Little Rock to help with fighting back tears. I just cant believe what Ive the project and learn how to develop similar cooperative proj- seen today, she said. ects with churches of all denominations. Her hands gooey with yellow paint. Mack pointed to her room We want to spark a desire in down the h^. Thats the boys bathroom everybody to serve rather than be served, he said. next door. The smell used to Beverly Jones, principal of spread into my room most days, Wilson Elementary School, said she said. It got a vent today, so the work done at her school by my classroom will be a whole ShareFest volunteers is priceless, new place. Mack believes the schools She was amazed at the people who took the time and energy to face-lift will bolster school pride do it. The work the volunteers did could have been done through and help with discipline. Paige Coats agreed. Swinging her arms and formal requests to the district twirling around her fifth-grade administration, but it would have classroom, the U-year-old smd taken longer to see results. With- shes sad that shell only enjoy in hours Saturday, two murals the schools new look this year, were painted, sod was laid, trees Too bad were not going to were trimmed and shrubs were be here next year, she said. But planted. The teachers lounge since other people dirtied it was rewired, furniture re-cov- up, weve got to clean it up for ered with slip covers, and walls people in the future.
This project was supported in part by a Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives project grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Council on Library and Information Resoources.