WINDSOR — Mount Ascutney School District Board members held a termination hearing Thursday for Tiffany Riley, the Windsor School principal put on leave after she made a Facebook post that was critical of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The nine-hour meeting, which was attended by board members, their attorney Pietro Lynn and Riley’s attorney Bill Meub, was held in executive session and not open to the public.
The termination hearing follows a decision the board made in July to fire Riley, who has served as principal of the Windsor School since 2015. According to state statute, the meeting could include witness testimony and written statements as well as cross-examination. The board will then have time to review the evidence and decide whether to reverse its decision to terminate Riley.
In an email Thursday afternoon, Lynn said he expects board members to take one or two weeks before issuing a written decision.
Riley was initially placed on paid administrative leave on June 12 after she made a Facebook post seen as critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. In the post she wrote, “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.”
Shortly after she was placed on leave, Riley, through her attorney Meub, filed a lawsuit against the school district, accusing board members of unfairly dismissing her as principal. In a response, Lynn argued that Riley’s point was moot since the school had not actually fired her at the time. Hours after Lynn’s filing, the School Board voted that evening to terminate Riley, triggering Thursday’s meeting.
The board and Meub were unable to reach a settlement in the lawsuit last month. Board member Elizabeth Burrows said in an email Thursday that an interim principal has not been chosen.