Updated Feb. 23, 2014
Lawyers for Superintendent Art McCoy and the Ferguson-Florissant School District have agreed to a hearing date of March 12-13, according to a district spokesperson.
McCoy is currently on administrative leave with pay.
This will be McCoy's first opportunity to respond to the board's charges.
For the board, the hearing is a necessary step before it could dismiss McCoy.
“Only after the hearing will the board determine whether to terminate Dr. McCoy’s contract for cause, which would relieve the district’s responsibility to pay Dr. McCoy’s salary and benefits,” Morris wrote in a letter posted on the district’s website.
In early November, school board members voted 6-1 to place McCoy on leave with pay, which under his contract is $217,644 a year.
Board President Paul Morris has said he cannot disclose the reasons behind the board’s decision to place McCoy on leave or the charges McCoy is facing because it is a personnel matter. But Morris has maintained that McCoy’s handling of transfer students from the unaccredited Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts was not a factor in the board’s decision. Initially, McCoy said the board never told him why he was being placed on leave, a point Morris has disputed.
On Dec. 19 the board announced that it had delivered a “notice of charges” to McCoy, including the reasons his contract could be terminated. It has not been not made public.
The board's action has sparked sustained public outcry and protest from McCoy's supporters, including St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City. They have expressed concerns that McCoy's leave and possible departure would set back efforts to ensure African American children succeed in the classroom.
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