HYDE PARK — The Murray Language Academy Local School Council on Wednesday night asked Principal Greg Mason to resign as the teachers returned a vote of no confidence in the magnet school’s leader.
The council voted at its Wednesday meeting at the school, 5335 S. Kenwood Ave., to ask Mason to resign after a testy meeting last month about the lack of communication from the principal, which culminated in Mason firing the well-liked assistant principal and not telling parents or teachers for several days.
“The point is for the school body to know we’re committed,” said Leslé Honoré-Smith, chairwoman of the council.
Honoré-Smith said she would take the council’s case to CPS if Mason didn't resign and said she thought she had a good case with the school’s declining test scores, the votes from the council and teachers, and the poorly handled firing of the assistant principal.
Mason declined to answer questions.
“These are difficult times,” he said.
Rhonda Butler has been reinstalled as assistant principal at the school because Mason did not follow proper procedures to remove her. CPS returned her to the position.
Honoré-Smith and teachers said they hoped CPS would act because teachers were already worried about retaliation during job performance reviews.
“I can guarantee my ratings are going to go down because it’s the only way he can get rid of me,” said Mandarin teacher Terra Sinkevicius, one of the only teachers to publicly say Mason should resign.
Twenty of the school’s 28 professional staff voted that they had no confidence in Mason’s leadership.
CPS officials were not available to comment.
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