Dr. Lorna McKay Fights On, but Gwen Liz Board Says She Must Go
On Monday, principal of Gwen Lizarraga High School Doctor Lorna McKay defied the request of the Board of Directors of the Government-run institution to clear out her desk, turn over her keys and proceed on administrative leave. Later in the evening, workmen were sent to change the locks on the office door. There were reports that teachers and staff were locked out today, but Board Chairman Roosevelt Blades denied this when he spoke to News Five this morning. He said he could not say anything else because the process has now begun for Doctor McKay’s removal, in which the Board is to officially bring charges within twenty days. He referred us to the letter shown by Doctor McKay in Monday’s newscast, which lists instances of non-cooperation with the Board. She sees it as the Board’s – and specifically Blades – trying to improperly intervene in school affairs.
Reporter
“Are you being treated unjustly?”
Lorna McKay
Dr. Lorna McKay, Principal, Gwen Lizarraga High School
“I’m sure of that. I’ve been treated unjustly for some time now and it’s no secret to my teachers; my teachers know what has been happening, my attorney knows what has been happening – I have a whole file – all of this has been happening for quite a while. I preferred to remain silent until now; but it has been too much. He walked into my office, put the letter there and told me it can be done the easy way, or the hard way, and he sat in the office and called the police to come and remove me from here.”
Reporter
“Is there a reason that you are being forced out – they point to numerous things in the letter, you feel it’s something else?”
Dr. Lorna McKay
“Quite a bit of things have been happening; basically, the Chair seems to want to have his own way. Maybe they need to refer to the terms of reference of the Board and see if the Board has been illegally formed, that might be one of the problems. And I have not done him anything; I don’t know if he has something personal, I don’t know what it is – maybe he needs to explain that to you.”
Reporter
“Now this foul atmosphere, this contention between the Board and the administration, it has to affect the quality of education?”
Dr. Lorna McKay
“It has affected the system. And if you speak to some of my teachers, you know that it has affected them quite drastically, because they are not happy, they are not comfortable and their morale is still low. And we have worked and tried to bring the school to where it was, because the school has been going down ever since that Board took over.”
Reporter
“So are you the problem, or is the Board the problem?”
Dr. Lorna McKay
“That’s left to be seen.”
Blades for his part told News Five he has nothing personal with Doctor McKay and that his actions are fully endorsed by the Board and done in the name of the Board.
