Community praises principal, blasts board

June 15, 2006

By PAT LITOWITZ
plitowitz@ncnewsonline.com

Members of the city's black community showered Jacqueline M. Respress with praise Wednesday night

Conversely, they heaped criticism, laced with choruses of outrage, against the New Castle school board and its administrators. Their reactions were in response to the hiring of Terence P. Meehan as administrative assistant to the superintendent.

Respress, a junior high principal in the district, was one of four finalists for the post. The highly charged school board session attracted more than 60 people, a majority of them backing Respress.

"I am quite sure that the candidates who were in line for the job were qualified, but I doubt that any of them were as qualified as Mrs. Respress," said the Rev. Peter Franklin, a Centennial Street resident.

"I will no longer stand by and watch her being passed over one opportunity after another."

Eighteen people spoke in support of Respress. They touted her educational credentials, community involvement, character and work ethic. The speakers said her qualifications, not skin color, should have prompted the school board to hire Respress for the newly created position.

"We are not charging discrimination, only a lack of good judgment and a failure of our school leaders to recognize a persistent problem: the under-representation of African-American professionals in our schools," said Laverne Lane of Locust Street.

Lane said she was speaking on behalf of Evelyn Ward, president of New Castle's NAACP chapter. Ward was unable to attend the meeting.

"It would be smart policy to elevate Mrs. Respress if only to demonstrate the commitment to diversity. New Castle certainly welcomes racial diversity on the basketball court and on the football field.

"Why can't we maintain that same enthusiasm for a black woman at the highest level of the (administration)?"

Portions of the meeting resembled an old-style revival service. Shouts of "amen" and "hallelujah" circulated through the room as one person after another testified on Respress' behalf.

"These are church people," she said. "People who believe in the Lord, believe in God's word. They believe in faith."

The room exploded into applause when Bell Avenue resident Anna Bennett said, "My God, you can't look at anything finer (as a role model).

"Simply by the way (Respress) carries herself when she enters into the room, she has immediately taken over the room. The room is captivated by her personality, by her spirit.

"She has lived an exemplary lifestyle before the people of this community."

Superintendent George Gabriel said Meehan attended Wednesday night's meeting.

"My advice to Mr. Meehan is, this is not an issue he needs to deal with," he said. "Mr. Meehan's ultimate responsibility is to improve the education of every child in the district."

Respress said she is reviewing several legal options with her attorney, Jonathan Solomon. One course, she said, is to file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"What does a black woman have to do to get promoted in New Castle?" she asked.