by Cris Italia
Parents have been outraged that one of their best teachers will not be back to teach their kids next year. "My son loves this man," said Robin Lease, whose son Andrew is now a freshman at Oceanside High School. "Mr. Murphy is an extraordinary teacher and he has an incredible effect on students. It's just a shame."
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Herb Brown will announce the district's decision at a May 5 school board meeting. When asked what parents can do when the decision finally comes in May, Dr. Brown simply said, "Nothing." Brown said that the procedure includes a three-year probationary period, after which the head of a department and the principal of the school have to make a decision. "Basically he has been evaluated, and based on those evaluations, a decision is made," Brown said.
Parents refuse to accept Brown's and the school's decision. "We are not stopping there," Dawn Kennedy said about the May 5 meeting. "I'm going forward with this and I will fight tooth and nail for this man." Kennedy's son Timmy is currently in Murphy's seventh-grade class. Kennedy also claims there hasn't been an evaluation by a superior in his class all year. "They are trying to bring down a good man," she said.
"It's very frustrating," Lease said about not being heard. "This is not the first time we've been ignored. If parents can't do anything about this, than what are we good for?"
Another parent echoed her statement, saying that the whole process has been "disturbing," and wants what is good for the children. "It's horrible [that they are not listening to us] considering what we pay in terms of taxes for good teachers," said Bob McManus. "I would like to know what the situation is. It just seems very lopsided, but this shouldn't be an issue. We know what a child wants."
School Board President Bob Transom says he has been sympathetic to parents. "I sympathize with parents, but we run the business part of the school district. We are not in the day-to-day evaluation," Transom said. He added that neither he nor parents can evaluate a teacher as the administration can.
Russell McManus, a former student disagrees. "They might be more experienced, but we are in his class every day," he said. "Who knows better than the students that are in his class?"
Personally, Transom said, the news about Murphy came as a shock. He has a relationship with Murphy because of their work together with the Kiwanis of Oceanside. "This has been gut-wrenching, because it involves a man I personally respect and like," he said.
As far as discussions with the school district are concerned, Transom says the school board has asked the district to reexamine the situation. When asked if the district's decision could be reversed by the board, Transom hesitated. "We can ... typically not. We try to persuade [the district] to look deeper into why they are not recommending a teacher for tenure, especially in cases like this, just to be sure it's just and reasonable."
He added that in Murphy's case the board has asked the district to "look beyond every avenue." Transom admitted, "We were very concerned about this too. In this case every stone has been uncovered."
The school board has been informed of the district's reason for not recommending tenure, but laws prohibit the release of that information. "That's a question you have to ask Mr. Murphy ... If he feels that when the time comes he wants to release that information to the public, he can do that," Transom said.
For now the board will brace itself for the April 14 board meeting, at which Transom expects parents as well as students to voice their opinions. "We've read all the letters, and we want to hear what they have to say," Transom said. "Parents have to trust the people they have elected to make the best decision for them."
In the meantime, separate petitions, prepared by parents, middle school students and high schools students, currently carry hundreds of names. Parents can only speculate what the reasons to dismiss Murphy are. While some believe it may be a personal issue with administration over teaching style, others believe it's because of his status as a child advocate.
"He fights for his kids. I think that might rub some people the wrong way," Kennedy said. "As a teacher, he takes every measure."
