|
|
"He is no longer employed with the district," R-III Superintendent Dr. John Long said.
Prior to working for the R-III district, Westling was principal at Cathedral Grade School, which is operated by the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Ill. He resigned effective June 1 over questions related to his job history following a stint at Gateway Academy, a private Catholic school in Chesterfield, according to a story in the Belleville News-Democrat.
The questions centered around whether Westling had obtained a doctorate degree and if he had been employed as an assistant principal at Gateway Academy.
R-III Superintendent Dr. John Long acknowledged a district patron approached a school board member two weeks ago alerting district officials to Westling's past job history. The allegations against Westling were found from an Internet search.
Long refused to answer specific questions about Westling's situation due to it being a personnel issue. However, he provided a copy of the district's employment application and noted that it has a section where the applicant must sign stating all the information presented is accurate.
The section also states that "any false or misleading answer is grounds for refusal to hire, or if applicant has been hired, for termination."
Dale Schowe, R-III school board president, confirmed that Westling's removal was related to "inaccuracies" and "discrepancies" regarding his employment. Schowe added the district took proper steps by taking action on Westling's employment. He also doesn't feel the district should be held responsible for failing to investigate Westling's background further prior to his hire.
"We acted as hastily as we could to come up with the best possible solution," he told The Record.
Attempts to reach Westling were unsuccessful.
In background information forwarded to the Belleville News-Democrat from the Belleville Diocese in June 2008, the newspaper reported Westling indicated he had a doctorate from Saint Louis University and had been an assistant principal at Gateway Academy. A spokesman from the registrar's office at SLU told the newspaper no doctorate was listed for Westling.
The principal at Gateway Academy, Denise Cress, also told the newspaper Westling wasn't an assistant principal at the school. Instead, he was employed as a physical education teacher and part-time guidance counselor, she said.
Long did say that in this case four references were checked prior to extending an offer to Westling and all were "solid." A potential hire also must pass criminal background checks conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and FBI prior to officially being employed, according to Long. However, those screenings don't uncover questions related to past job history.
"It is surprising if we ever check references on somebody and they are not good," Long said.
Westling's past job history, Long said, included time spent as a police officer and school resource officer. Westling also previously taught and coached softball at Lindenwood University.
In an Internet article provided to The Record, an online story about fastpitch softball written by Westling is bylined "Dr. Robert Westling."
"Checking references and that type of thing for any potential employee is an inexact science," Long said. "No matter how much you look there is more out there."
Noting this was the first time this type of incident had happened in his 5 1/2 years here, Long acknowledged the district's employment screening procedures need to be re-evaluated for possible improvements. Nonetheless, he also said the process is not in need of a major overhaul.
"In an organization this size, with 415 employees and a $28 million budget, there are going to be instances with employees who have made bad decisions or employees who have even done things criminally," Long remarked. "You can't stop these things from happening all the time, but you can respond appropriately when it does happen."
Both Wright City R-II Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines and Long stated an Internet search could lead to legal issues if an applicant feels like they've been discriminated against. Long said he recently went to a conference where an attorney advised district administrators from doing such searches.
Gaines acknowledged his district has searched MySpace and Facebook pages of applicants "to see what folks are doing."
"You would like to think you can catch everything," Gaines stated. "You try to put the best procedures in place to minimize anything happening."
Westling's hiring was approved by a 6-0 vote on Oct. 8 by the R-III school board.
He was being paid $33,000 annually, plus benefits. Two-thirds of the salary was to be paid by the R-III district with the remaining third taken care of by the R-II district. The payment arrangement was determined by the districts' total enrollment and could change in the future if the truancy officer spent more time in the R-II district.
When Westling's hiring was announced, Long said he was the unanimous best selection over the other six applicants who were interviewed by an eight-person committee comprised of representatives from both districts.
Long said the truancy officer position won't be vacant for long. He said a tentative agreement has been reached with a second candidate following a recommendation by R-III committee members. The hiring should be made official at this Thursday's school board meeting.
The truancy officer position was created to boost attendance figures for both the R-II and R-III districts and help meet state guidelines. The districts also benefit from higher attendance figures by receiving more state funding.
The truancy officer is responsible for investigating unexcused and excessive absences and tardiness, while enforcing the school attendance laws and policies against students, parents or guardians.
