UPDATE: Tift Co. High School principal placed on leave following investigation
TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) - The principal of Tift County High School was placed on leave at Thursday night’s Tift County School Board meeting, according to a Tift County School statement.
Tift County High School Principal Chad Stone was placed on paid administrative leave for 30 days and will not have his contract renewed.
His suspension follows a Georgia Professional Standards Commission investigation (GaPSC). The commission did determine there was probable cause and believed an ethics violation did occur involving Stone. That led to the school board ultimately deciding not to renew Stone’s contract and place him on a 30-day paid leave. His contract ends June 30, 2024.
Stone was first placed on a five-day leave back in September 2023 at the same time several other Tift County School officials came under fire by some residents who called for their removal.
The chief investigator of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission said Stone is accused of violating standards 5, 6 and 9. According to their code of ethics, standard 5 relates to the misuse of public funds and property. Standard 6 addresses remunerative conduct, which also involves finances. Standard 9 addresses unprofessional conduct. Along with the school board’s decision, an unknown sanction was issued to Stone by the GaPSC investigators. Now, it’s up to Stone to agree to those terms or request a hearing in front of an administrative law judge.
Investigators said since this is an ongoing investigation, they aren’t able to tell me what incident involving Stone led to their investigation. They did, however, say there is nothing that can stop Stone from teaching. He’s still eligible to work as an administrator. They said any action taken locally by the school board is based upon local personnel policies or decisions that the GaPSC does not influence.
“We see missteps every day that are avoidable, and preventable and establishing ethical school cultures is important and that starts at the top with the superintendent all the way down to the teacher,” said Laurin Vonada, GaPSC director of educator ethics.
Stone had already announced he would retire in 2024 after questions were raised about social media posts he made showing students and stakeholders.
WALB News 10′s Lenah Allen reached out to Stone for a comment but has not heard back yet. The GaPSC investigators said Stone has 30 days to exhaust all his due process rights.
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