Musing: What gives at UHS?
Reporters can be a suspicious lot. And we should be, especially when it comes to politicians and government entities. And make no mistake, public schools are government entities. School board members are politicians, they hold elected office and levy taxes. A school district superintendent is appointed by those politicians and is, therefore, a political appointee.
So, when a superintendent sends out an email on a Sunday night saying the district high school is safe, without any context, I wonder what’s going on.
That’s pretty much what happened Sunday evening. Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Superintendent John Sanville sent an email just after 8 p.m. The first two paragraphs read as follows:
“Recently information has been shared on social media questioning the safety of our students at Unionville High School. Statements that our students are in danger are simply not true. We understand the concerns that may have arisen as a result of the posts and I want to share with you what is actually happening.
Social media is often a source of misinformation and unfortunately, that is what has happened here. We trust that most of you understand the dangers of jumping on a bandwagon that is not supported by facts. We appreciate your ability to discern what is factual and what is supposition.”
Where’s the context? There is none, except to say some person or persons made statements on social media that the superintendent felt are “harmful rumors” that “create panic.”
“Posting false statements that question the safety of Unionville High School leads to harmful rumors and can create panic when there is no need for it. Remain focused on the fact that UCF’s number one priority is the safety of all students in all buildings all the time,” Sanville wrote.
So, I phoned Sanville to find out what was hiding in the dark behind his email. I left a message and waited. He did not respond to my call but the district communications director did. She said she couldn’t name students — which is understandable — but she also said she could not say anything about what happened.
The rest of Sanville’s email was the generic, politically correct pontification about how much the district cares about safety being a primary focus and that an internal climate survey indicated that “a vast majority of our students feel safe.”
This type of situation isn’t unique to John Sanville. Years ago, during Sharon Parker’s reign as superintendent, there was an incident at the high school where a number of students became ill after eating some cookies that another student had brought to school. The rumors included one implying the cookies were made with marijuana. The truth was never revealed. It was hushed up even after the police were called in.
Did something happen at the high school recently or did it not happen? Quite frankly, I don’t know at this time. And if the school district won’t respond, I’d like to hear from others who not only know what might have happened but can offer some proof or evidence.
Please email the information to editor@chaddsfordlive.com
The school board and the administration talk about transparency. They should do more than talk about it.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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