¿Adiós?

Okaaaay, I REALLY don't know what to make of the whispers and rumours and whatnot that's been spreading like fire on spilt gasoline in Prince William County and Greece, NY. It began last Friday, July 18 with an e-mail I received from someone stating that Steven Walts was resigning. I was out of town during that time, and when I returned home, my father had more information. As early as last month, the school board had apparently offered a buy-out for Walts. The amount wasn't quite what he was looking for. But then word comes around that he was resigning. The reasons spanned from being "caught en flagrante with a male math teacher" to suspicions that "one of the employees he brought from New York was his mistress and the wife found out. " A friend of my father's had called asking for confirmation. I would think that something this big would be reported in the Potomac News and/or Washington Post, but when I checked, there was nothing. However, underneath the hum of rush-hour traffic there is a palpable electricity, especially up in Greece.

It began with a post on the Smarter CATS in the Greece Central School District blog titled ALL POINTS BULLETIN?

PWC Resident said...
There's word out that Waltsie and possibly his boys are going to waltz out of Prince William County Public Schools.
Keep a sharp eye out for these hoodlums. Do NOT give the bad guys any reason to return to your system. 7/18/2008 7:12 PM

This post sparked a furor. These comments give reason for pause:

Anonymous said...
Impeccable sources close to PWC report that Walts resigned yesterday (Friday) rather than be fired for cause. It is alleged that Walts was caught with an employee engaged in behavior that would be considered cause for dismissal . The cheering in PWC has just begun!!
Are their people on our board that are sick enough to want to bring him back?
Stay tuned for breaking news!
Oh, he allegedly overspent the budget on the new admin bldg. by $15 million. And the Board of Education members are profoundly embarrassed by this turn of events. Of course they were warned about Walts' behaviors three years ago, and again and again. 7/19/2008 2:39 PM

Anonymous said:
If the story about Walts resigning is true, then some hard questions need to be asked.
Was the employee wishing to be given a raise by Walts?
Was the employee seeking to get ahead at work?
Did Walts overplay his hand?
Was there bad-mouthing of or by either party?
Clearly a subordinate employee can be compromised by a powerful superior. It is called sexual harrassment!
Can Walts' lifetime health care paid by Greece residents be stopped immediately for actions that warranted dismissal by the current employer?
Or will Boily and puppets want to ignore yet another smoking gun!!! 7/19/2008 3:52 PM

A further post allowed for discussion of the former comment: OOPS!! HE DID IT AGAIN?? In the following discussion, an anonymous post that seemed to originate from PWC offers more:

The rumor started here in Prince William early in the week that he was going to resign. It spread among the principals and teachers in summer school like wildfire. When people called the admin office, it was denied. But then on Friday, the talk expanded and it was coming from people who worked on the Hill in or close to the super's office. They said they saw what was happening Friday morning and that he definitely was resigning or going to resign. He was taking things out of his office clearing it out. By Friday afternoon, it was all over the county, although not officially reported anywhere. At my school we never heard any rumors as to why or any allegations about Dr. Walts, just that he was leaving. But there have been wild rumors for weeks that Kisha left because of sexual harassment and misconduct. We're just as baffled as everyone else is.

We have rumors like any school system but I can't remember any rumor being this talked about and not true. I'm not saying it is true but the people it was coming from are people who have never spread rumors like this in the past. They seemed fearful of losing their own jobs with a new administration so I think they were being honest about what they saw and thought was happening on Friday. 7/20/2008 3:51 PM

And here's my comment:

At this point, I'm getting told two different stories left and right. For all the announcements our school board makes, it would be VERY helpful to hear one verifying or busting this rumour. >:( I am astounded that SCATS appears to have more info on this than our own papers. ><

For those wondering about blog coverage, there is at least one. BLACK VELVET BRUCE LI July 20: "No, PWCPS Superintendent Walts is not resigning/been fired or whatever, despite rumors to that effect. Some folks have confused the resignation of the State Superintendent with Dr. Walts. For beter [sic] or worse, Dr. Walts is still with us."

Hopefully, more info will come to light in the coming days. 7/21/2008 4:32 AM

I know, Wikipedia isn't the best source =)

Personally, there is nothing I'd like better than to see a certain someone walking out of Independent Hill with his tail tucked between his legs. I can only hope that all school systems have been warned of this character and will keep their doors shut to him and his associates.