Save Palisades United Methodist Preschool and Kindergarten!

Dear Palisades United Methodist Church,

As parents of the Palisades United Methodist Preschool and Kindergarten, we are writing to express our concerns with a series of recent leadership decisions made by the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) that have had devastating impacts on the school and the families it serves. We urge the Church Council to take immediate action to prevent a complete collapse of the preschool.

As you know, School Director Sandy Bonaparte was abruptly removed by the Chair of the SPRC on September 25, 2018. Sandy was a highly qualified and respected leader of the school for many years. The school thrived under her leadership, as demonstrated by the waitlist of families wishing to attend the school, longstanding teaching staff, and tremendous development of the school grounds and programs. Despite these facts, the SPRC terminated her employment without any warning or explanation to the families who had entrusted their children in her care. The SPRC has still failed to produce any valid justification, hiding behind a vail of confidentiality.  

We also understand that, shortly before Sandy was terminated, she reported to the Church that parents and teachers had complained of inappropriate conduct by Pastor Darren. Rather than investigate these complaints in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Book of Discipline, we understand that the Church conducted only a cursory interview with certain complainants and then disregarded the complaints as unfounded. We are highly concerned that the Church failed to follow its own Book of Discipline, disregarded complaints of sexual harassment, and then terminated the individual that reported such complaints. This response is unacceptable, particularly considering the Church's role in teaching Christian values and caring for young children.

In addition to our concerns surrounding past events, we are highly concerned with the current leadership at the school. In the four weeks since Sandy's departure, 3 teachers and 1 classroom aide have resigned. As a result, countless families have already disenrolled and more families are likely to follow suit. While well intentioned, School Director Mary Massey has failed to demonstrate the leadership qualities necessary to foster a positive school culture, recruit qualified teachers or secure short term substitutes and maintain enrollment.

Lastly, we are concerned with the preschool leadership structure and lack of accountability for leadership decisions. We understand that the SPRC Chair led the decision to remove Sandy and hire Mary. This process was inconsistent with the School Advisory Council Bylaws approved by the Church Council, which provide the School Council with the authority to hire, oversee and terminate the School Director.  The SPRC Chair has been hostile to staff and unwilling to meaningfully collaborate with parents to remedy ongoing concerns. The sudden loss of teachers and families to the preschool community can be attributed to these actions, and we urge the Church Council to hold the SPRC accountable.

The leadership decisions made by the SPRC have already resulted in the loss of dedicated teachers and a beloved school director, which has greatly impacted the children and parents of this school. Failure to take immediate corrective action is sure to have devastating long term impacts on this school, this church, and this community.

For these reasons, we ask the Church Council to investigate the role and recent actions of the SPRC with respect to these issues and take immediate action to ensure effective leadership of both the school and church.