Fired Delco principal gets $300,000 in settlement

A Rose Tree Media elementary school principal whose firing enraged some parents and students said Tuesday that he had received $300,000 in a settlement with the district and already has started a new job.

Bill Bennett, who accepted the offer last week after fighting to keep his 15-year position at Indian Lane Elementary School, said he now is principal of Delaware Design-Lab High School, a charter school opening in August in Newark, Del.

A former Rose Tree Media School District supervisor referred him to the school's founder, "and we connected and it worked out," he said Tuesday, a day after the school board voted, 8-0, to accept his resignation at a meeting at which several parents condemned the decision and children cried.

He took the settlement, he said, because even if he were reinstated at Indian Lane, he could not afford the legal fees, which have cost him $150,000. The payout will allow him to pay his attorney and live for a few years as he did on his old salary, he said. His new job pays less.

The settlement caps a tumultuous six months. Bennett was told in January that he was being fired after clashing with two employees at his school in the spring of 2014, and making inappropriate remarks or yelling at staff in the past.

He admitted losing his temper and making the remarks, but denied other accusations, such as yelling at a special-education student. In a series of five hearings, dozens of parents, students, and staff members testified that he was a warm, caring, and effective leader.

"I'm not nearly as bad as the board and Mr. Wigo has presented, and not as good as parents have presented," he said Tuesday.

He said he believes he ran afoul of Superintendent James Wigo last year when he opposed the superintendent's choice of a new teacher for his school, whom he was told to hire before he had even interviewed the 20 candidates, Bennett said.

Hiring has "always been equal opportunity, based on merit, a score sheet. I questioned his hiring practices, thinking they were not ethical or moral," he said.

He and the other three elementary school principals had a meeting with human resources director Anne Callahan and he told her, "This is not right," Bennett recalled. "I said, 'I really want to sit down with Mr. Wigo.' She said, 'I would not go there.' I took that as a warning."

Then, in April, Bennett took a medical leave, which he said he believes opened the door for the district to replace him. He said he was told to take a medical sabbatical at half pay and resign at the end of the year.

"I don't believe they thought I'd stand up to it," he said.

Wigo and the school board have declined to comment on the case.

Bennett, a father of three, said that he decided to go public with his fight after several parents stood up for him at a school board meeting in March.

"I asked my attorney what he thought. He said, 'You have nothing to be ashamed of.' I also thought I had nothing to lose," he said.

He said his case points to bigger problems with the administration in the highly rated district.

"It just underscores the sense that things have to be done his [Wigo's] way or they're wrong," Bennett said. "I think there's a sense of fear and concern among employees who question anything."

The whole process, he said, has "just been crazy. I'm so glad it's over in many ways."

He said he loves Indian Lane and is disappointed to leave, but "it would have been very difficult to work where I knew my services were not wanted."

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@kathyboccella