Outside review: Patrick County superintendent retaliated against teachers, board

Patrick County School Superintendent Roger Morris retaliated against four teachers he’d seen as critics, an outside investigation found.

Patrick County School Board Chairman Ronnie Terry, confirming the findings, said Thursday that resolution of a similar complaint by an administrator was pending.

Morris, who went on paid medical leave last month, was not available for comment.

Terry said the school board still needed to consider what, if any, disciplinary action to take against Morris.

“There are all kinds of issues, legal matters to consider,” he said. “We want to do this right.”

The retaliation complaints grew from a series of staff reassignments at the end of the last school year. Terry said the four teachers all have returned to their original jobs.

The reassignments involved school system staff who helped a state Department of Education investigation that found that several high school students were awarded diplomas and credits they didn’t earn.

Tension had been mounting before the state investigation, in part because of a move to reduce incentive payments to teachers who had retired early. Last year, the then-chairman of the county’s board of supervisors called for the superintendent to go and the superintendent sued him for defamation, seeking $10.35 million.

In July, after teachers and county residents brought their concerns about Morris before the state Board of Education, the county board and Morris began negotiations to shorten Morris’ contract. His recently extended contract was due to expire in 2015, but officials were eyeing the end of next school year as the end of his tenure.

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