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COLUMBUS- The “Principal for a Day” Program at Rutherford B. Hayes Elementary School in northeastern Columbus was derailed on Tuesday when it was discovered that 6-year old Tommy Warrick was woefully underqualified. After winning the honor for coming in first place in his 1st grade spelling bee, Warrick was completely overwhelmed by the complex administrative and personnel duties that the usual principal, Maureen Jackson, deals with every day.
Warrick began the day of abject failure by arriving later than is customary for the principal. While Principal Jackson would normally get to school between 6:30 and 7 A.M., Warrick did not arrive until approximately 7:55 A.M, only minutes before the school’s bell was set to ring. As a result, secretary Norma Flynn had to arrange coverage for two absent teachers, field over 20 phone calls from parents, dispatch a janitor to fix a broken faucet in the girl’s bathroom, and monitor the staff sign-in sheet with no assistance. When an exasperated Flynn asked Warrick if there was any reason for his late arrival, the child unsympathetically brushed aside her concern, saying that, “this is the time my mom always drops me off.”
The situation became even worse for Flynn when she asked Warrick what he wanted to drink. Jackson customarily drinks hot tea in the morning, but occasionally prefers coffee with cream and Splenda. Instead, Warrick told Flynn that he wanted orange juice. When he was informed that the office only had coffee and tea prepared, he said that he “does not like coffee and tea,” and “wants orange juice.” Flynn interpreted the request as a directive from a superior and left the school to drive to the nearest 7-11 and purchase a bottle of orange juice with her own money. From there, the monumental failure of Warrick's administration would only deepen.[LEFT- If only Warrick had taken his responsibility as seriously as last year's Principal for a Day, Peter Filstrom, perhaps this mammoth catastrophe could have been averted.]
Flynn’s momentary absence left an administrative hole in the main office for which Warrick was not able to compensate. At 8:30 A.M., Jennifer Baggerly, the K-3 music teacher arrived at the main office during her prep period with Dan Stephens, a staff representative for the National Educators Association. Principal Jackson had scheduled a disciplinary meeting with Baggerly to discuss her inappropriate use of sick days for personal leave. Since Baggerly had received previous coaching on the subject, the meeting was intended to progress her discipline to a last chance agreement, thus requiring representation from her union. While Jackson prefers to deal with disciplinary matters in a factual and non-confrontational fashion, Warrick’s management style proved to be substantially less advanced. When Baggerly and Stephens entered the office for their meeting, he was hiding under the desk with chairs set up to enclose himself in a fort. He then told Baggerly that she “smells like cats,” and refused to come out from under the desk. When told that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Baggerly’s use of sick leave, he said “grandma’s sick and she smells like cats too.” At that point, an exasperated Stephens requested that the meeting be rescheduled and left the office, adding another catastrophe to Warrick's short resume.
The next two hours were quiet, as Flynn managed the office affairs while Warrick figured out how to log onto Jackson’s computer and distracted himself by watching videos of people playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on YouTube. The peacefulness was disturbed when beloved lunchroom supervisor Dorothy Tabin entered the office to check in for her shift. When Warrick saw Tabin, he ran out from behind his desk and hugged her leg. When she said she needed him to let go because it was unprofessional and she needed to go to the lunchroom, he continued to hold on and squeezed even tighter. Tabin has since contacted an attorney and said that she plans on suing Warrick and the school district for sexual harassment and for creating a work environment in which she feels uncomfortable. When contacted, the school district had no comment on the subject.
In the afternoon, Warrick became angry when he learned that the principal does not get a break for recess. He saw many of his classmates playing kickball on the fields outside the school and told Flynn that he was going to play with them. When Flynn reminded him that his signature was required to approve dozens of expense reports, Warrick became irritated and threw the folder full of reports on the floor, scattering several hours’ worth of receipt collation. It was one of the most petulant administrative acts anyone had seen since the former 6th grade basketball coach, Mr. Harris, kicked over a water cooler after a referee called his star player for traveling.
Finally, Warrick finished the day by failing miserably at a budget committee meeting at the school district’s downtown headquarters. He started by backing Jackson’s car into two separate parked cars in the parking lot, then hit and ran several more vehicles on the 10-minute drive to the headquarters. He eventually arrived without the presentation on Hayes Elementary’s cutbacks proposal that was required for the meeting, which meant that the school’s budget would automatically revert to the control of the city council. Once again, Warrick’s wanton fiscal and administrative irresponsibility resulted in a management nightmare for Hayes Elementary.
As a result of Warrick’s abysmal performance as principal for a day, the school is contemplating altering the rules of the contest going forward. For example, under one proposed rule change, any student who wins the award would have to undergo a 30-minute tutorial on being a principal before assuming total control of the school.
Flynn’s momentary absence left an administrative hole in the main office for which Warrick was not able to compensate. At 8:30 A.M., Jennifer Baggerly, the K-3 music teacher arrived at the main office during her prep period with Dan Stephens, a staff representative for the National Educators Association. Principal Jackson had scheduled a disciplinary meeting with Baggerly to discuss her inappropriate use of sick days for personal leave. Since Baggerly had received previous coaching on the subject, the meeting was intended to progress her discipline to a last chance agreement, thus requiring representation from her union. While Jackson prefers to deal with disciplinary matters in a factual and non-confrontational fashion, Warrick’s management style proved to be substantially less advanced. When Baggerly and Stephens entered the office for their meeting, he was hiding under the desk with chairs set up to enclose himself in a fort. He then told Baggerly that she “smells like cats,” and refused to come out from under the desk. When told that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Baggerly’s use of sick leave, he said “grandma’s sick and she smells like cats too.” At that point, an exasperated Stephens requested that the meeting be rescheduled and left the office, adding another catastrophe to Warrick's short resume.
The next two hours were quiet, as Flynn managed the office affairs while Warrick figured out how to log onto Jackson’s computer and distracted himself by watching videos of people playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on YouTube. The peacefulness was disturbed when beloved lunchroom supervisor Dorothy Tabin entered the office to check in for her shift. When Warrick saw Tabin, he ran out from behind his desk and hugged her leg. When she said she needed him to let go because it was unprofessional and she needed to go to the lunchroom, he continued to hold on and squeezed even tighter. Tabin has since contacted an attorney and said that she plans on suing Warrick and the school district for sexual harassment and for creating a work environment in which she feels uncomfortable. When contacted, the school district had no comment on the subject.
In the afternoon, Warrick became angry when he learned that the principal does not get a break for recess. He saw many of his classmates playing kickball on the fields outside the school and told Flynn that he was going to play with them. When Flynn reminded him that his signature was required to approve dozens of expense reports, Warrick became irritated and threw the folder full of reports on the floor, scattering several hours’ worth of receipt collation. It was one of the most petulant administrative acts anyone had seen since the former 6th grade basketball coach, Mr. Harris, kicked over a water cooler after a referee called his star player for traveling.
Finally, Warrick finished the day by failing miserably at a budget committee meeting at the school district’s downtown headquarters. He started by backing Jackson’s car into two separate parked cars in the parking lot, then hit and ran several more vehicles on the 10-minute drive to the headquarters. He eventually arrived without the presentation on Hayes Elementary’s cutbacks proposal that was required for the meeting, which meant that the school’s budget would automatically revert to the control of the city council. Once again, Warrick’s wanton fiscal and administrative irresponsibility resulted in a management nightmare for Hayes Elementary.
As a result of Warrick’s abysmal performance as principal for a day, the school is contemplating altering the rules of the contest going forward. For example, under one proposed rule change, any student who wins the award would have to undergo a 30-minute tutorial on being a principal before assuming total control of the school.
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