Chris Rosa / Abbeville Meridional
Vermilion Parish School Superintendent Jerome Puyau had a choice — to go behind closed doors to talk about his character or have the school board give its reasons in front of a jammed packed room.
Puyau said he wanted the school board to talk about him in front of his peers.
“I think it was important to hear the reasons why,” said Puyau on Tuesday morning. “They would have come out of executive session and said, ‘The superintendent is placed on administrative leave.’ No one would have known the reasons why and how bogus and petty these things are.
“It would have been, ‘You are placed on administrative leave.’”
So, in front of a crowded room, School Board President Stacy Landry read off a list of complaints against Puyau.
Some of the complaints read out loud were:
— Doesn’t go into classrooms.
— Signs evaluations without observation.
— Takes leave without notifying anyone.
— Rapport with people in the community.
— CEO, not an instructional leader.
— Overrules decisions by others by being vindictive.
— Employees scared because of repercussions.
— Erratic behavior and sudden mood changes.
— Confrontational.
— Banging hands on desks & disrespectful body language.
— Refused free security that would be paid for by the City of Abbeville.
— Didn’t hold true to promises.
— Abusive behavior toward numerous people in the Vermilion Parish School System.
— Contract employees hired without board knowledge.
— Verbal attack on parents after meeting.
— Overruling board decisions.
— Inappropriate use of technology on school campuses.
— Allowing individuals to attend work with their spouses.
— Opened positions before bringing them to the board.
— Denial to provide a public record to the board.
“If you are going to say something bad about me, and talk about my character and confidence, make sure you have the data to back it up. I have the data to back it up,” said Puyau.
The school board voted 8-0 to hire someone to investigate all of these allegations that go back four years. The only problem is, the board could not decide on who to hire.
School Board member Kibbie Pillette suggested hiring a neutral attorney to investigate the accusations. Landry said he did not think the board can afford to keep hiring attorneys because of the lawsuits already taking place.
Another suggestion was to let Brad Prudhomme, who is in charge of student services for the school district, investigate his boss.
The school board delayed hiring anyone to investigate the claims against Puyau.
Puyau said he followed board policy and state law and did nothing wrong. After being told not to step foot on any school property due to his suspension, Puyau thought about going to work on Tuesday.
“I am the superintendent. I am supposed to be at work. Show me where it says there is administrative leave for a superintendent. My contract says it is not. This contract shall not be broken unless for a cause.”
Puyau admitted on KATC TV 3 after the meeting, and he told the
Meridional, if someone from the school district calls and needs advice on a school decision, he will give out information. He, won’t however, make recommendations or suggestions on what the school employee should do.
“ So, I will be at home, and I will be working, and I will be working for our system in the background because there is just one superintendent, and I will be their superintendent,” said Puyau on KATC TV 3.
The investigation could take weeks to complete. In the meantime, assistant superintendent Paul Hebert will be the acting superintendent.