The Bed hopping love – Rat – Roving eyes at younger female Principal

Former Superintendent William Hite is now the new Superintendent in Philadelphia but he still got legal ties in Washington DC Metropolitan area: Several lawsuits against Prince George’s County Public schools (PGCPS) and Dr. William Hite Jr are currently pending in both Prince George’s County Circuit and Federal Courts in Greenbelt Maryland. The School Reform Commission (SRC) of The School District of Philadelphia made no mention of Hite’s spotty history nor of the suits when they hired him in 2012. Reading this post made me tired. There really is so much drama and cronyism involving Dr. Hite and what he did during his tenure in Prince George’s County. A serious look and an exposé by Philadelphia newspapers and others about Hite is long overdue.  Hite also has connection with Broad Foundation. We are sure many more facts will come up in Philadelphia as the time goes on.

On this note, Carol Barbour, former assistant principal/principal alleges that Dr. William Hite removed her name from a list of candidates to be considered for PGCPS positions after receiving an extremely negative review of her work from a colleague in North Carolina, where Barbour once worked. Barbour is Latina, a fact that Dr. Hite said he was unaware of despite meeting with her in her office, and she is alleging discrimination. In fact, Carol Barbor was criticized as being missing in action by the parents at the North Carolina school where she was principal (at the instigation of Dr. Hite’s friend). See story HERE. (Carol Barbour Affidavit)

Make sure you read it all because at the end of the post includes information on YET ANOTHER lawsuit filed by PGCPS Principals which we brought to your attention in November 2012.  I’ll paste it right here:  There have been new developments in that $100 million federal lawsuit alleging racial and sex discrimination by Hite and the Prince George’s County School Board. At the initiation of Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel (ASASP) Union, the law suit was filed in November and it was withdrawn by the group in April 2013. (See our previous blog on the case here) Doris Reed, director of the Association of Supervisory and Administrative School Personnel, said last week that she and Prince George’s officials are working to get their members, who were part of the class-action suit, back to work.”

From Philly.com, “Carol Barbour, 44, of Upper Marlboro, Md., is slapping Hite, 51, with a Second federal lawsuit, accusing him of defamation and other charges including conspiracy. (See the entire complaint ~>Second federal lawsuit<~here) The claims stem from a federal lawsuit Barbour filed in March 2012 against Hite and his previous employer, Prince George’s County Public Schools, alleging racial and age discrimination as well as retaliation. (See First complaint here – the other case)

Barbour, who is Latina, worked for Prince George’s County schools as an assistant principal and principal from 2002 to 2005. She claims to have applied for more than 20 jobs there since 2008. Hite worked for Prince George’s County schools from 2006 until 2012, when he came to Philly. What is not fully being disclosed is also a hint of sexual harassment – a  trade mark of the infamous and capricious Hite.

It was during the proceedings in the first case that Hite, who “had agreed, then unagreed” to answer email questions from Barbour’s attorney, Richard Patrick, signed a sworn statement that is the basis of the most recent lawsuit, said Patrick, of Fairfax, Va. In the affidavit signed March 28 by Hite, the superintendent acknowledges that he knows Peter Gorman, the head of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, where Barbour once worked, and is also named in the suit.

Dr. Hite

Hite categorically stated he called Gorman for a reference and Gorman “specifically said that Ms. Barbour was ‘one of the worst principals he had ever been associated with’ and he said she was ‘terrible.’ “Gorman’s negative reference prompted Hite to instruct the Prince George’s County former human-resources chief Synthia Shilling who was caught drunk driving to remove Barbour’s name from “any list of candidates for positions to ensure that she was not hired,” according to the affidavit. (See Affidavit of William R. Hite Jr here)

Hite said he had no idea Barbour was Latina. “We were baffled,” Patrick said yesterday. “We did not know until his affidavit that that was why Ms. Barbour did not get any job at Prince George’s County.” Barbour’s evaluations from Charlotte-Mecklenburg, filed in the first lawsuit, show that Barbour received a “proficient” rating in her only year as principal of Winget Park Elementary School. The evaluation was signed by Elva Cooper. She was eligible for rehire by the North Carolina district, according to notations made on the school’s letter accepting her resignation.

“You really don’t know why it was said,” Patrick said, referring to Hite’s remark. “The second lawsuit is going to find out.” To the county employees victimized in similar fashion during Dr. William Hite’s reign of terror in Prince George’s County public schools, Carol Barbour is a “hero” to many. She deserves recognition for going after the barbaric and self-serving behavior exhibited by former king pin of public school system PGCPS and thatcher Law firm heads on. How can Dr. Hite say he did not know Carol Barbour was Hispanic or latina when he met her and he is very familiar with people of Hispanic origin with a large Hispanic population in Prince George’s County? It begs the question, did this lady stop Dr. Hite’s advances?… Time will tell.

Philadelphia School District spokesman Fernando Gallard referred comment to Hite’s Maryland attorney, Robert Baror. Phone calls to Baror were not returned.

It’s high time we exposed Dr. William Hite Jr. Students, parents and staff of Philadelphia deserve better. He already messed up PGCPS before moving on to the next victims. It’s high time to stop the behavior heads on!

From left: Karyn Lynch, chief of student service for the Philadelphia school district, Dr. William Hite Jr., school superintendent, and Dannielle Floyd, interim senior vice president of capital programs, answer attendees questions at the School District of Philadelphia’s Facilities Master Plan Meeting held at the Martin Luther King High School on Jan. 15. (Photo by Sue Ann Rybak)