Steve Poole wants to move on.
The former H.H. Dow High School Principal was sent out into the wilderness in August. Mr. Poole was removed from his position, catching the community’s ire (as well as—in some pockets—its grace), for what the school district said was an unlawful search of a student’s phone. Since then, he has been quietly going to work in a new, low student-contact position of Curriculum Specialist for Auxiliary Education.
Since most of the community’s anger over Mr. Poole and his actions has dissipated, quiet support for him has started to somewhat rise to the surface.
Numerous conversations with public school officials, teachers and administrators have led to a quiet defense of Mr. Poole’s values and character while at the same time acknowledging that what he was accused of doing was serious and ill-handled.
The school district won’t comment on the big question that emerged from the matter: Why was he reassigned and not terminated? Midland Public Schools administrators are not organized — there is no union — so it wasn’t a decision based on labor concerns.
Mr. Poole’s letter of reprimand (signed by Midland Public Schools Superintendent Mike Sharrow) was direct and harsh.
“Your behavior reflects poorly on you and our district and has a high probability of tarnishing your reputation and the district’s reputation,” Mr. Sharrow wrote.
The City Paper obtained documents on the investigation and matter through a Freedom of Information Act request to the district. The documents are heavily redacted due to student confidentiality laws and attorney-client privileges.
“We wouldn’t comment on the personnel part of that, no,” Mr. Sharrow told the City Paper, referring to why Mr. Poole wasn’t terminated.
Mr. Poole’s new position is specifically tailored to mitigate his contact with students.
“This position will have restricted and limited interaction with students in order to protect the district as well as yourself from further legal exposure due to the above incident,” a separate letter to Mr. Poole from Mr. Sharrow reads.
The letter documents Mr. Poole’s violations of district policies on anti-harassment and searches and seizures.
Mr. Poole declined to comment for this article and on whether or not there is a path back to the Principal’s chair, except to say that he simply wishes to move forward.
Along with the fury that came with the district’s announcement and subsequent news articles on the topic, Mr. Poole also had public support from former and current students.
A farewell tweet from Mr. Poole on his recent transfer received replies from many district students.
“Dr. Poole, you were the absolute best, been [with] you since [sixth] grade and you were an amazing role model to all the students. Gonna miss you Dad of Dow High,” reads one reply.
“It’s his own personal matter,�? Mr. Sharrow told the City Paper. “From his mind, he’s ready to move on. It’s been a six, seven, eight month living hell for him; on something that, somewhat, was a routine discipline matter that turned into much bigger because of some decision making—so the guy’s been through a lot.”