Communication Builds Our Community

Articles from the 'Charter School Superintendent Search' series


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  • Charter School Superintendent Vote Happens Tuesday

    Suzie Schottelkotte and Robert Connors, Lake Wales News Staff|Updated Feb 22, 2022
    1

    The Lake Wales Charter School Board of Trustees is expected to choose a new superintendent of schools Tuesday to run seven local schools and maintain the standard of excellence achieved by former Superintendent Jesse Jackson. Jackson, who built an award-winning program with the help of principals and staff members, resigned in February, leaving the trustees to find a replacement. The fraught selection process continues to generate community concern. A nationwide search for...

  • Ideological Group Seeks to Influence Superintendent Selection

    Suzie Schotelkotte and Robert Connors|Updated Feb 21, 2022

    A small but vocal group has been a significant influence on the process of selecting a new superintendent for the Lake Wales Charter School system, a simple reading of documents reveals. (See Related Story Here) The Polk County chapter of the Ohio-based County Citizens Defending Freedom has been involved in the process at numerous points and has consistently acted to promote the selection of Andy Oguntola. Two speakers who sought to end the national search in Lake Wales in...

  • Superintendent Search Controversy Deepens

    Robert Connors and Suzie Schottelkotte|Updated Feb 17, 2022

    Shaken community confidence in the search for a new superintendent to lead the Lake Wales Charter School system has generated a wave of criticism from educators, community leaders and parents, amid suggestions that the system may see a "mass exodus of quality employees." Following a stunning revelation last week that Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has retained legal counsel in the face of "harassment," others involved in the school system are questioning the...

  • Charter School Superintendent Search Committee Recommends Three Finalists

    Tom Paulson, City Editor|Updated Feb 2, 2022
    3

    EDITOR'S UPDATE: Dr. P.J. D'Aoust has withdrawn from the selection process after being selected as one of the finalists for Charter Schools Superintendent. After a lengthy and contentious final meeting, a recommendation has been sent to the Lake Wales Charter School Board of Trustees from the ten-member Citizen's Superintendent Search Committee. In a nearly two-hour meeting, the committee members submitted their final choices to be forwarded to the board. Coming out on top...

  • High School Principal Donna Dunson Retains Legal Counsel

    Tom Paulson and Robert Connors, News Editorial Staff|Updated Feb 2, 2022

    Lake Wales High School Principal Donna Dunson has notified the Lake Wales Charter Schools Board of Trustees that she is retaining an employment attorney to represent her "because of the systemic harassment that has been in play for over a year." The action is further evidence of the polarization that has disrupted the local seven-school system, which has been previously recognized for striking improvements in local schools. Dunson, a popular local school leader who has been a...