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Bulloch superintendent - No connection between SEBMS principals
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References to circumstances surrounding the recent resignation of the current Southeast Bulloch Middle School principal and an official complaint against the former principal were clarified after a concerned parent broached both subjects during a March 8 Bulloch County Board of Education meeting.
    Susan Pertalion asked during the meeting whether the resignation of Southeast Bulloch Middle School Principal Alan Putz was related to a complaint to the Professional Standards Commission about former SEB Middle School principal Ed Davis.
    Davis was reprimanded by the PSC for improper use of a school computer. The complaint was filed after Davis retired from the Bulloch county school system.
    The two situations are not related in any manner, Bulloch County School Superintendent Dr. Jessie Strickland said Friday.
    She cited personnel confidentiality reasons for not elaborating further on Putz's resignation, but she adamantly said the resignation of Putz was not connected in any way with Davis.
    During the meeting, Pertalion questioned the Bulloch County Board of Education's acceptance of Putz's resignation. Putz said earlier this week he was asked to resign, but did not comment further.
    Pertalion also referred to the PSC complaint against Davis, asking how long school officials knew about the situation before the complaint was filed.
    "My question is what did educators know and when did they know it,"  she said.
    Neither Strickland or any school board member responded to Pertalion's questions except for Strickland stating "We have followed every guideline" regarding Davis' incident and Putz's resignation.
    "We were not informed of any possible impropriety until July 2006, after Mr. Davis resigned," Strickland said Friday. "Upon learning, we informed the proper authorities and launched an immediate investigation, which resulted in no criminal charges. Mr. Davis had already left the Bulloch school system during the PSC investigation."
    According to the PSC report, dated Dec. 20, 2006, Davis was suspended for 20 days from his contract with another school system as penalty for being found guilty of "misuse of school property."
    The complaint read: "The school system reported that before the educator retired at the end of the 2005/2006 school year, he used his school computer to access inappropriate Internet sites," the report read. " ... photos of females - some like the head shots used on MySpace.com and some in various states of undress-- were recovered from his computer’s hard drive."
    The report stated Davis admitted to the charges.
     "The Respondent admits that he used his school computer to access web sites that had photos that others might consider pornographic," the report read.  "He admits he used his school computer for personal use  ..."
    Davis declined to comment on the PSC report except to clarify the complaint came after he left the school system, and that it had nothing to do with Putz's situation, and deny rumors he was returning to work in Bulloch County.
    "It is not related in any way, shape or form to Mr. Putz' resignation," he said. "And I have no interest in reaffiliation with the public school system of Georgia."
    Strickland expressed confusion as to why people thought the two incidents were connected.
      "I don't know how such a rumor could get started," she said.
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