Lawyer: Cops Clear NE High Principal of Misconduct

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

 

 

Broward School police have cleared Northeast High School Principal Jonathan E. Willilams of allegations that shredded staff morale and divided the campus along racial lines.

 

Jonathan Williams--Northeast HighJonathan E. Williams

 

Williams was accused of everything from mismanagement to changing students grades.

Christopher Whitelock, a lawyer who represents Williams, said the police investigation found no wrongdoing.

“He’s been cleared of everything,” Whitelock said. “We’ve been notified of that and we are very satisfied.”

Police interviewed dozens of witnesses at the high school last year. Whitelock released the findings this month.

“It was a bunch of unprovable allegations that went back seven years,” Whitelock said, calling the accusations “a bunch of BS.”

The complaints against Williams had been simmering for a long time.  Allegations of poor management started to reach the School Board Headquarter shortly after Williams took over Northeast in 2007.

Williams was alleged to have ordered grades to be changed to benefit athletes. It was claimed Williams covered up crimes at Northeast to better the school’s image. He was said to have tolerated questionable behavior, including drunkenness, by staff members who supported him.

He was alleged to have publicly screamed at teachers who disagreed with him, contending they were racists. The Broward Teachers Union said they received complaints about Williams’ “inappropriate conduct, including unwanted touching of female teachers.”

Williams had his supporters, too.

Some of his backers blamed the lengthy disruptive dispute on resentment among white parents and staff to demographic changes. The school, which once had a majority white student body, is now roughly half black and only one-fifth white.

At one point, a picture of Williams’ face allegedly was placed in an unused colostomy bag and left in the teachers’ lounge.

One Williams supporter e-mailed Browardbeat.com last year, but preferred to remain anonymous:

“The racism that this man has faced from adults at the school has been just horrendous. I am at a loss as to why he continues to work there while being emasculated over and over again by both specific members of the school district and a handful of racist educators who currently work and have worked there.

“This response is typical when a school that was predominately white begins to get a little more color. The people who once worked there cannot get over the past and are desperate to get the old students and old culture back. They refuse to teach differently and they mistreat and discriminate against the new black and brown children. Then, when a principal comes in and attempts to get them to change and do the right thing by these children, he is placed under relentless attack.”

Although school police have found no evidence to prove Williams committed wrongdoing, he is not totally in the clear. The state Department of Education is still looking at the allegations. And the School Board has the final say and could eventually order Williams removed from Northeast High.

Whitelock said Williams preferred not to comment until the state Department of Education completes its invesgiation.

“This is a principal who has been an effective leader since 2007,” Whitelock said. “This whole investigation was ludicrous. I never thought there was any basis for it at all.”

 

 

 



9 Responses to “Lawyer: Cops Clear NE High Principal of Misconduct”

  1. Spin Zone says:

    Oh, is that what the defense attorney says? I would verify that information with the school district. Sounds to me like he wants you to print this so he can bait the audience for information to help proceed with a discrimination lawsuit when William’s is fired/non renewed in June.

  2. Lt Dangle says:

    We all know how honest police are, lol

  3. Alice McGill says:

    Where there is smoke, there is fire.

  4. NE Parent says:

    Please, Mr. Runcie, get rid of Williams who divides us.

  5. Charter Is The Answer says:

    Charter schools wouldn’t put up with Williams. He is a megalomaniac who only has one segment of the students in mind. Let’s get a charter high school in Oakland Park.

  6. Baloney says:

    Mr. William s started this racial crap as soon as he came on campus..He made it clear he thought the school was too white. Now after driving 50 or more teachers and staff out due to his bullying, he is clear?. Shame on the cowardly school board.

  7. I testified says:

    There are no winners in this investigation. Mr. Williams is now able to claim that the charges were fabricated and initiated by “racists”, yet several of the teachers who testified were African-American and Hispanic. The persons who testified are now apprehensive knowing they have secured retribution from Mr. Williams, and there will be retribution!

    The Broward School Police Department as well as Runcie has exposed the corruption that exists in the system when certain individuals are untouchable irrespective of their behavior.

    As a teacher who was part of the investigation, I have a new motto: I see NOTHING! I know NOTHING! Why would I risk being identified as a trouble maker, a racist and/or a deficient teacher when the outcome of an investigation is almost assured that the person will be absolved.

    “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, is what the Broward School Police, Williams and Runcie are saying at the moment to those that spoke the truth.

    FROM BUDDY:

    Employees of the school system are frequently victims of the tyranny of the Broward School “Police,” who frequently violate the School Board’s own policies and the law to railroad innocent employees or overlook wrongdoing by those favored by the front office. The School Board Police are a joke and have been for years. The functions should be transferred to a real police department, like the Broward Sheriff’s Office. It would be one way the school system could save money. At least, they could explore that option by, for once, thinking outside the box.

  8. Chaz Stevens, I am Festivus says:

    Nice racist comment there Alice McGill.

  9. Mia says:

    He will probably get promoted!