The N&R editorializes on the just-completed investigation into Northern Guilford High School.
The editorial (rightly) takes to task parents who were willing to cheat to enroll their kids at Northern, focusing on the incredible quote from one mommy in Tuesday’s story:
“I don’t apologize for doing what’s best for our son,” she said. “They say what we did was wrong. We didn’t do (anything) selfish or hurt anybody, so where’s the problem?”
The editorial then breaks down and analyzes the quote (their italics):
We didn’t do (anything) selfish. … Faking an address to sneak into a school to which you were not assigned and taking a spot on a varsity team from a legally enrolled student is the very definition of selfish. So, too, is thinking that the rules everyone else has to follow do not apply to you.
… or hurt anybody. … There is plenty of hurt to go around. Just ask the adults who lost their jobs, the teams that forfeited wins and a state title and everyone else associated with a school with a big blemish on its reputation.
The second graph implies that the adults who lost their jobs —- namely former Northern Principal Joe Yeager, athletics director Derrell Force and custodian Louis Lawson — were passive players in this mess. Indeed, the investigation concluded that Yeager and Force should have known about parents’ cheating. If that’s the case, then were the forced (in my opinion) resignations of Yeager and Force —- not to mention Lawson’s termination — warranted?
Again, I’m not saying the three men who lost their jobs are innocent. And I realize Guilford County Schools has state personnel laws to hide behind. But the investigation leaves many unanswered questions about the conduct that cost them their jobs.
