School leader fights for job Andover-Morris School principal says dismissal not properly handled. Board says she wasn't renewed. Thursday, June 14, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | The Andover-Morris School principal is not going down without a fight. Jeanette Gilliland believes the school district did not properly notify her that she is not welcome back next school year. On May 14, in a divided vote, the board went against Superintendent Gordon Pethick's recommendation to renew Gilliland's contract. Principal at the third- to fifth-grade school for three years, Gilliland would have been granted tenure rights in August. She contends she didn't receive formal, written notice from Pethick. According to state law, the chief school administrator must deliver written notice of a nonrenewal on or before May 15. According to the New Jersey School Boards Association, if the board fails to notify a nontenured faculty member of a nonrenewal, the employee's contract is renewed for a year. The employee must notify the board of her acceptance of the default offer by June 1. The school board received Gilliland's acceptance letter May 16; board attorney Don Morrow sent Gilliland a response within a day or so. "In my opinion, her contract has not been renewed, and she's been so notified," Morrow said. Morrow and Pethick were hesitant to answer much about the situation beyond general procedural questions because of confidentiality and potential litigation concerns. School board President Paul Rummerfield said there shouldn't be any confusion as to Gilliland's employment status. "The board directed the superintendent to nonrenew an employee," Rummerfield said. "(Pethick) should have notified her in writing. Why he didn't, I don't know." Gilliland said Morrow's response letter informed her that the public rejection of her contract renewal by the board served as notification. Gilliland was at the May 14 meeting and sat to the back of the middle school cafeteria. In addition, Gilliland asked for reasons in writing why she was not renewed. That is the first step in a process known as a Donaldson hearing -- essentially an appeals process for nonrenewed employees. Gilliland will have the opportunity to have an informal hearing with the board where she's allowed to plead her case for staying in the $101,681-a-year job. Parents complained of bad relations with Gilliland in the past year, and board members said those complaints and her upcoming tenure eligibility led to her nonrenewal. Gilliland, whose contract expires June 30, is co-hosting a seminar on crisis intervention at Andover-Morris on Monday. Meanwhile, the 49-year-old administrator continues to work at the elementary school. She said she's tried to not let the news affect the students and that there's a great deal of work to be done to close out this year and get the school ready for September, regardless of who the principal is. Pethick said it was evidence of her professionalism. "I don't know what to expect," Gilliland said. "I have a high level of commitment to the school. I've come to love this school a great deal." Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com.