WINDSOR — Mount Ascutney School District Board members hope to make a decision within the week regarding the fate of Tiffany Riley, the Windsor School principal who made a Facebook post seen as critical of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Oct. 7 deadline to decide whether to take the final steps to fire Riley was set after board members held a closed-door termination hearing for Riley early this month. They also met behind closed doors on a “legal matter” on Sept. 18, then voted to “enter into negotiations as discussed during executive session.” The board also met for about 20 minutes on Thursday evening in executive session but took no action in public, according to draft minutes of the meeting.

Board members initially planned to make a decision on the outcome of the termination hearing by Oct. 1, but the date was pushed back a week.

Riley’s attorney, Bill Meub, said on Monday that he asked for the delay to give the parties more time to reach a settlement, both in regards to Riley’s position at the school, and a lawsuit that she has filed against the district.

In an email Monday, Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Burrows also cited holidays and other time constraints, which made it difficult for board members to find time to meet, as reasons for the delay.

Pietro Lynn, an attorney representing the school district, said he expects the board to announce a decision this week.

The issue stems from a Facebook post Riley, who has served as principal of the school for five years, made on June 12, following nation-wide protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I firmly believe Black Lives Matter, but I DO NOT agree with coercive measures taken to get this point across; some of which are falsified in an attempt to prove a point,” she wrote.

She also wrote that “While I want to get behind BLM, I do not think people should be made to feel they have to choose black race over human race.”

The board put Riley on paid administrative leave immediately following her post, prompting Riley to file the lawsuit against the district, accusing board members of unfairly dismissing her as principal. In a response, Lynn argued that Riley’s point was moot since the district had not actually fired her at the time.

Hours after Lynn’s filing, the School Board voted to fire Riley.

Initially, the termination hearing — which is required following a vote to fire a school principal — was put on hold while the two parties went into mediation over the lawsuit. But when they couldn’t reach a settlement during a day of mediation on Aug. 20, the board and Riley went forward with the hearing.

Meub said he and the board are now having “follow-up discussions” to see if they can come to an agreement or settlement regarding the lawsuit and Riley’s termination.

Lynn declined to comment on any negotiations but said in an email Monday, “we are not likely to resolve the dispute before a decision is issued by the Board.”

Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.