When new City Schools of Decatur Superintendent David Dude fired a media clerk late Friday afternoon, he was probably not aware of the furor to come.
But it came — hundreds of students, teachers and parents rushed to the defense of Decatur High School media clerk Susan Riley, who has worked at the school for 19 years. Along with a torrent of angry emails and calls, about 175 Decatur residents held a rally this morning to denounce the abrupt firing. In addition, 40 Decatur High teachers wore black this morning and stood outside the high school in solidarity with Riley.
Supporters were mollified by Dude’s decision Sunday to rescind the firing, saying now he may have acted on bad information although he still declines to tell Riley or the community exactly what the information was. That has raised concern about how well the school chief knows his new community and his staff, and some people told him so directly at the rally.
“We know Susan,” said Decatur attorney and parent Doug Aholt. “We are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. We don’t know you so we don’t know whether you deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
Several hundred students have shared their experiences with Riley, who was “mom” to many kids. At the rally today, students said she buoyed them with her kindness, her standard greeting of “Hey, darling” and her innate ability to know which students were suffering.
Now, Riley is on paid leave while Dude looks for an arbiter to review what happened. Dude may bring in former District Attorney Bob Wilson to review the case.
To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog at MyAJC.com.
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