Sivo out as middle school principal

The South Burlington School Board last Wednesday voted unanimously to not renew middle school principal Scott Sivo’s contract.

The move has caused an uproar in some quarters of the community and left parents concerned over what they have called a “lack of transparency.”

“The decision, along with other recent unsettling events within our district, has been communicated with little to no explanation, leaving parents, students, and staff in a state of uncertainty and concern,” reads an online petition spearheaded by parents Thursday morning demanding the board reconsider the nonrenewal decision.

Since then, the petition has garnered nearly 450 signatures.

The board announced its decision not to renew Sivo’s contract following an executive session last Wednesday.

Sivo took over as principal of Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School in 2022 after the former principal, Karsten Schlenter, died unexpectedly just before the start of the new school year. Sivo was formerly the principal of Shelburne Community School but resigned from there to move to the South Burlington School District.

Due to the amount of backlash the board has received since its decision, the board issued a public statement Friday explaining that under law, members are limited in their ability to speak about the issue because Sivo still has the right to contest the board’s action.

Members said their decision emanated from a report from district superintendent Violet Nichols outlining “her evaluation and conclusions as to performance deficiencies,” which ultimately led to her recommendation not to renew Sivo’s contract.

“We assert that Superintendent Nichols acted with supreme integrity and conducted a thorough investigation in this situation, and we fully support her decision,” reads the statement signed by board members. “Please be assured that our decision in this matter was not made lightly and that we concluded, on the basis of our superintendent’s report, that it was absolutely necessary to support all students, staff, and families.”

In a personal statement from Sivo given to The Other Paper, he said he was surprised by the response of the board Friday afternoon, because during his time at the middle school he had never been made aware that he was the subject of an investigation or received any formal performance feedback for this school year.

“I have never been questioned as part of an investigation,” he said. “Similarly, the board reported ‘evaluations and conclusions as to performance deficiencies’ being presented to them in executive session. But to this point, I have received no formal performance feedback for the 2023-24 school year, beyond my letter of non-renewal.”

The board’s response, along with a personal statement from Nichols, asserts that she has worked closely with legal counsel, and followed a process that is “fair and reasonable” to ensure that a commitment to equity for all staff, students and families is upheld.

“I have been in conversation with Mr. Sivo throughout his employment regarding his duties. I have given him feedback and suggestions,” Nichols’ statement reads. “Every decision made by the district is made based on what we consider to be in the best interests of our students.”

Regarding the evaluation of staff, the district’s communication coordinator, Julia Maguire, said the district follows an official “administrator evaluation timeline” that is negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement for administrators.

The district completed evaluations for Sivo for the 2022-2023 school year, she said, and for the current school year, the district engaged in the “supervision and evaluation process in accordance with the administrator evaluation timeline” to this point.

Evaluations are not finished until June 30, but because Sivo’s contract was probationary, the district reserves the right to non-renew at any time, she said.  

The evaluation timeline outlines steps should an administrator be placed on a “performance improvement plan” regarding specific concerns, but due to personnel reasons Maguire could not confirm whether Sivo had been placed on an improvement plan. She said Nichols had met with him and provided feedback throughout that timeline of the administrator evaluation process.  

“After those evaluations had taken place throughout the current school year, the district’s counsel then met with Mr. Sivo on March 4 and made him aware that should he not accept the superintendent’s decision, the final decision would go to the school board. That vote took place at the March 13 school board meeting,” Maguire said.

According to Sivo, "I have never been placed on an improvement plan in 15 years of being supervised and evaluated as a middle school and high school administrator, and this includes during my period of service to the South Burlington public schools."

Lack of transparency?

Some community members have overwhelmingly voiced that the lack of information has caused “profound concern and disappointment.”

“There was zero transparency from the board or the superintendent,” said parent, community member and petitioner Jennifer Skinner-Cisse. “We have no idea why. There just was no transparency from the board about this. And, when Karsten died two years ago, he left a big hole and big shoes to fill, and Mr. Sivo has done an amazing job. Every experience I’ve had with him has been fantastic.”

Students also sought to take matters into their own hands this week. After learning that students were staging a walk-out Tuesday afternoon to protest the board’s decision, Sivo sent an email urging families on Monday evening to dissuade this action.

“It will not be helpful to me or have an impact on the decisions that have already been made,” he said. “The last week has been a stressful period for our community and the added stress of this type of action will not be helpful. I am flattered by the students’ desire to try to help, and I think it is emblematic of the tight-knit community we have established at (the middle school). But unnecessarily interrupting the learning of over 500 students is not something I will ever support.”

Another parent and community member, Erin Sutherland, had a different opinion than the vocal majority.

“Our board has been through a lot in the last two years, and there’s been lots of changes,” she said. “I do believe that this board is trying to do the right thing. I just don’t believe that Violet and the school board members would make a decision to not renew a contract when we’re in such a difficult time of busing problems, and a budget crisis, knowing that the pool for administrators is very small. I feel like while everyone is upset about the lack of transparency, I think this is a situation where they really can’t be that transparent.”

Elementary school principal

To add to the confusion, the principal of Orchard School for the last 15 years, Mark Trifilio, who was set to retire at the end of this school year, according to a Feb. 21 announcement, he is now on a leave of absence for an unspecified amount of time.

Maguire said the two incidents are not related. It has also been confirmed that Trifilio did not submit a notice of leave to the district.

Trifilio declined to comment, but did say, “he hopes” to be back at Orchard School soon.

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Updated Thursday, March 21, 2024.