Grosse Pointe Board of Education
closes the door on Diver and Slone

In the end, the requiem for Al Diver and Brandon Slone was played, as requiems usually are, in a minor key.

Their sudden exit from the administration of Grosse Pointe South High School last week was a bombshell, resignations forced by charges that both used school-provided computers to send and receive sexually explicit material on school-provided email addresses. Or, in the more genteel language of central administration, “serious violations of our Technology Acceptable Use policy” that involved “inappropriate adult images.”

But when it came time to accept the resignation of Slone, South's assistant principal, and acknowledge the departure of principal Diver (a contract employee; the board didn't need to act on his dismissal), the mood at the Board of Education meeting Monday night (May 23) wasn't one of outrage or offense, but sadness. In the roll-call vote, Judy Gafa's “yes” came in a whisper. Brendan Walsh offered his “with regret.” Eyes downcast, they voted unanimously and board president John Steininger dropped his gavel on the two men's careers in Grosse Pointe.

The sadness may extend. Reports circulated Monday that a third administrator may be involved in the matter. District spokeswoman Rebecca Fannon said, “The district continues to investigate this situation and will share as soon as we learn more.”

It was left to South parent Fran Wilson Bedan to give voice to the anger felt by many parents over what they felt was the “uncomfortably coincidental” timing of Diver's and Slone's exits. She connected the dots between last week's events and the pair's support of South football coach Tim Brandon, who was the subject of a botched firing and rehiring last fall.

“It is important that you understand that the perception of many members of this community is that the influence and power of a single or small number of individuals has been permitted to drive decisions affecting programs within the district,” Bedan said, expressing a widely held belief that Brandon's firing was orchestrated by powerful parents unhappy with his coaching style, and that the disgrace of Diver and Slone was somehow payback.

Bedan’s remarks received sustained applause from the audience.

Board members replied that the two incidents were not connected. Steininger called it an “administrative decision.” Walsh said he was “equally bothered by what happened in the Tim Brandon situation,” but “I don’t think it’s productive to try to connect these issues. I agree that the circumstances and coincidences are difficult to fathom, but I would just tell you as someone who’s gotten a firsthand view of these issues, it’s probably in the best interest of this district to move forward.

“We had some good people make some bad decisions, and they remain good people, and I look forward to maintaining relationships with both of these people,” Walsh said.

No other board members spoke.

Besides the vote on Slone and related discussion, the board held a work session and heard from the two men representing the search firm charged with finding a superintendent to succeed the retiring Suzanne Klein. Jim Morse and Roger Garvelink from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates told the board that they’ve received 12 applications for the post so far, but expect more, around 25 to 30.

The board also heard a review of the Elementary Scheduling Study Report, which calls for changes in the school’s music and Spanish programs, adding time to each. The report recommended Spanish be expanded from a monthly to weekly timetable and taught at an earlier grade.

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