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Story Archives: City school board declines to revisit Dupree contract


City school board declines to revisit Dupree contract
by Michael DeVault - posted Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 @ 8:13 pmE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
It's official.

Dr. James Dupree's last day of employment at the helm of Monroe City Schools is Sept. 30.

Following more than an hour of heated and impassioned debate, members of the Monroe City School Board voted 4-3 to reject a motion to reconsider Dupree's contract.

The motion was made by school board member Rodney McFarland.

McFarland voted against renewing Dupree's contract at a school board meeting last month. He said he wanted the opportunity to reconsider that decision after community leaders expressed support for Dupree.

At a school board meeting in March, board members voted 5-2 not to renew Dupree's contract, which expires Sept. 30. In explaining their vote, board members said Dupree had affectively communicated with the school board.

Prior to the vote to reconsider Dupree's contract at Tuesday's school board meeting, board member Stephanie Smith said one of the biggest complaints she had heard against Dupree was his failure to communicate with members of the school board.

Smith said she was surprised to hear the complaint because none of Dupree's predecessors had given school board members regular updates.

"We have never received board updates," Smith said. "We have never received e-mails."

Smith said if that was the only complaint board members had, Dupree should be reinstated.

"Let me tell you, we have never received it from a previous administration, but we're receiving it now," Smith said.

Smith called Dupree "an advocate for this system," and said his commitment to the Monroe City Schools was unmatched.

"This man, Dr. James Dupree, has come into this system and fought for our children," Smith said.

School board member Brenda Shelling insisted she was standing by her decision to vote against renewing Dupree's contract and said she found it "offensive" people have tried to intimidate her.

"There are no secrets why this board feels the way it feels," Shelling said.

Shelling told the standing-room-only crowd her constituents elected her to make tough decisions.

"I have a mind and an intelligence to make the decisions I feel my constituents elected me to make," Shelling said.

The three-term school board member said the school board elections in October 2010 will determine if her constituents were displeased with her vote.

"I say that if any member of my district feels I'm unfit to continue serving, bring it on," Shelling said.

Since the school board rejected a proposal to renew Dupree's contract, Dupree will serve as superintendent until the expiration of his current contract, which is Sept. 30.

School board officials now have four months to vet suitable candidates to replace Dupree.

At the Tuesday night meeting, Shelling introduced agenda items to begin the search for Dupree's replacement.

Shelling said she believed the process would take as long as 16 weeks to complete.

"We're way behind the timeline for putting a new superintendent in place," Shelling said.

Dupree came to the Monroe City Schools in 2004 to replace Superintendent George Cannon, who retired.

At the time, standardized testing scores were in decline while the number of dropouts had was increasing. Also, the system had less than $20,000 in cash reserves.

At the close of the 2007 academic year, test score trends and dropout rates had leveled off and an audit of the school system's finances showed some $8 million in cash reserves.

School board members have frequently pointed to Dupree's $180,000 annual salary, which makes him one of the highest paid school superintendents in Louisiana. Dupree's salary also is well above the national average of $110,000 annually for school superintendents.

In late 2007, officials with the Caddo Parish school system revealed Dupree was one of three finalists for the superintendent job with that system.

During the interview process for the Caddo position Dupree sought more than $200,000 in compensation, including a membership in a country club.

Caddo school officials declined to offer Dupree a contract. As of last week, the position in Caddo was vacant.
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