Mrs. Peeler Inr’ " School Board Action Was “Biased”
By Mac Thrower
Post Staff Writer
“I want to get these lies
cleared up," Ida Peeler
declared as she began an
interview with The Post
concerning her highly pu
blicized dismissal from the
—Charlotte-Mecklenburg
School System after 22
years as an elementary
teacher.
Mrs. Peeler told her side
of the story to The Post in
response to the allegations
made against her in con
nection with a series of
incidents involving her at
Devonshire and Statesville
Elementary Schools. This
article presents her
opinions and judgments
about her dismissal (she is
the first tenured teacher to
be fired by the Charlotte
Mecklenburg School Board
in seven years) and the
events leading up to the
•Mrs Peeler insisted that
the School Board action
was "punitive and biased."
"I taught in different
schools under a number of
different principals for 20
years and I never had a
black mark on my record,
First in a series
or a compiauu against
me,” she stated.
“They said I was incom
petent, but how can I be
incompetent when my '
class scored as high nr 1
higher than others on
standardized tests at
Statesville?” (Statesville
Road Elementary), Mrs.
Peeler asked. She also
added that recent graduate
work she has completed in
her field-55 hours at UNCC
-demonstrates that she is
committed to her work as a
teacher.
Mrs. Peeler alleged that
the School Board’s 7-0 vote
to fire her resulted from a
two-year campaign direct
ed against her by certain
members of the staff, and
several parents at States
ville Elementary who were
motivated, she claims by
personal, and, in some
cases, racial biases.
”1 can’t possibly de
scribe all the things that
went down,” Mrs. Peeler
said in summing up her
experience as a teacher at
Statesville Road Elemen
tary. Her problems began,
J.C Smith Recognizes
33 Visiting Lecturers
Johnson Q». Smith,,Uni
versity has recognized 33
distingished visiting lectur
ers in 1981-82.
The new program is
sponsored by the Univers
ity’s Board of Visitpr&Apd
funded by the Shelby
Cullom Davis Foundation
and the Household Finance
Corporation and Subsi
diary Companies.
George Fitzpatrick,
head, business and econo
mics, and faculty liaison
officer to the board, is
director.
Lecturers are:
Doug Cunningham, vice
president; Walter Elcock,
assistant vice president,
and Charley Cooley, vice
president, personnel,
NCNB Corporation; J.
Wiley Martin, general
manager, personnel and
John H. Bemont, manager^
personnel, Southern Bell;
John C. Engler, vice presi
dent, and Richard Ellis,
account executive, Merrill
Lynch.
Also: Lewis Levine, pre
sident, Family Dollar
Stow; Jewel Garrison,
Town; John E. Wav
rick Jr., vice president,
personnel and Susanne
Hurst, training director,
Ivey’s Carolines; William
H. Grigg, senior vice pre
sident, and J. S. Major,
vice president, personnel,
Duke Power Company.
Including: Godfrey Ben
nett, vice president, em
ployee relations, and
Dennis Hayes, manager,
human resources develop
ment, Harris-Teeter Super
markets; J. Robert Lee,
treasurer, First Union Cor
poration; Dr. Veda Doss,
professor of economics,
and Thomas Fleming, pro
fessor of marketing, Bel
mont Abbey College.
Also, Sam Johnson, pre
sident, Sam Johnson Lin
coln-Mercury; Thomas S.
Wallace, managing part
ner, Arthur Young and
. Company; John M.—
MaCaskill, vice president,
Belk’s; Paul Leonard Jr.,
vice president, John Cros
land Company; Scott C.
Lea, president, Rexham
Corporation.
Sharon T. Waters, hu
man resources coordina
tor WPCQ-TV; Thomas A.
Nicholson Jr., personnel
administrator, Barclays
American .Corporation;
Ray Davis, vice president
for development, Johnson
C. Smith; Clayton C.
Lovell, vice president,
Wachovia Bank and Trust
Company; Sandy Wei ton,
managing principal, LEAD
Associates.
Tom Hoffman, director,
human resources planning
and development, Celanese
Corporation; Harry Ru
dolph, West Side Realty;
Bernard White, assistant
Tax Supervisor; Pat Gib
son, audit supervisor, Peat,
Marwick & Mitchell.
little Theatre
Will Hold
Auditions
The Little Theater Stu
dent Guild will hold audi
tions for its summer show,
‘‘David & Lisa,” at the
Little Theatre, 501 Queens
Road, on Sunday, May 30 at
2:30 p.m. and on Tuesday,
June 1 at 7:30 t>.m.
The show calls for 11
males and 11 females,
stage ages between 15 and
late 30s. Production dates
are July 8 through July ll.
The Student Theatre
Guild, and its auditions,
are open to anyone be
tween 14 and 21.
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Mrs. Ida Peeler
...Would like to get lies cleared up
she asseted, after a spank
ing incident at Devonshire
I
Elementary that led to her
being temporarily suspend
ed by the School Board. A
suit brought against her in
court in connection with the
spanking was resolved in
her favor after both black
and white parents of chUd
ren at Devonshire testified
in her behalf. But she be
lieves that the publicity
surrounding her spanking
of the white child at Devon
shire followed her to
Statesville Elementary,
where she was reassigned
for the next school year.
Mrs. Peeler revealed
that some parents asked to
have their children taken
out of her class before she
began teaching at States
ville, "before they even
met me." She claims that
these incidents were the
first in a pattern of inci
dents in which “kids were
*w>ved in and out of my
ch^s without any notice
beil^ given to me."
Peeler, a conflict soon
developeKfcetween she and
the principH at Statesville
Road Elemetiary, Adeline
Ostwalt. M*s. Peeler
charged that Mr\ Ostwalt
harassed her for racial
reasons. "She has a repu-'
tatlon for intimidating
black teachers,” she
declared.
"They were literally spy
ing on me," Mrs. Peeler
remarked in describing tho -
atmosphere she encount
ered at Statesville Ela.
mentary. "The principal
(Mrs. Ostwalt) visited my
class continually, and the
aides (assistants assigned
to Mrs. Peeler) reported
everything I did to the
office."
One of the aides, Carolyn
Strauss, was said by Mrs.
Peeler to have been hostile
because of personal resent
ment. "She didn't under
stand her duties...she
wanted to lead the class,"
Mrs. Peeler accused. She
said that Ms. Strauss’
resentment boiled over into
a constant attempt to un
dermine her (Mrs. Peel
-er'sf position by making
negative reports to the
principal about Mrs. Peel
er's classroom conduct.
NEXT WEEK: Part II
will present Mrs. Peeler’s
response to specific charg
es made against her.
IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE
IN THE CHARLOTTE POST
-
-Our Apologies Extended To
-The Nice lady Whose Phone Number
We Printed Last Week
Dr. Charles Blair, DJ)JS^ PA.’s
Correct Number Is
393-5044
Thank You
-—_ML
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