STANDISH – As the deadline nears to hold a hearing on the future employment of Bonny Eagle High School Principal Beth Schultz, School Administrative District 6 officials have not released any further information on the decision to not renew her contract.

The apparent holdup is confusion regarding whether the decision by Schultz to allow a previous discussion of her contract to be held in public remains in place. At that meeting, on Feb. 26, the SAD 6 board of directors voted to let Schultz go at the end of contract, which expires June 30. The board was acting on the advice of Superintendent Frank Sherburne, who said Schultz, principal since 2008, lacked the leadership skills to be effective.

Schultz was left with the option to ask for an appeal and a letter from the board detailing the reasons for its decision. According to SAD 6 school board Chairman Larry Miller, Schultz submitted her request for the letter on or about March 8. According to state law, he said, the board has to schedule a hearing with Schultz within 30 days of receipt of the request, which would place the meeting on or before Sunday, April 7.

Peter Cary, attorney for the board, said a letter will be provided to Schultz prior to a second hearing on the matter. However, he said, the district is unsure whether Schultz permanently or temporarily waived her rights to privacy when requesting that the Feb. 26 meeting be held in public. If the matter is public, the letter, which Cary said has yet to be drafted, could be made public.

“I don’t know because this is a personnel matter and I’m uncertain how extensive the principal’s release of her confidentiality rights is at this point,” Cary said.

Cary said he hasn’t received clarification on the confidentiality matter from Reben. Reben didn’t return several calls for comment from the Lakes Region Weekly. Schultz also did not respond.

Miller, the board chairman, said the second hearing could be made public if Schultz so chooses. Schultz can decide up to the time of the meeting whether she wants it to be held in public, Miller said.

“A person has the right to declare it public or to withdraw any previous request that it be public, so we don’t know yet,” Miller said.

The school board took comment from Sherburne as well as Reben and Schultz at its Feb. 26 meeting. It withdrew to executive session to discuss the matter and came out voting unanimously to not renew Schultz’ contract.

Sherburne, who said Schultz relies too heavily on him for daily decisions, did not attend the Feb. 26 executive session and said he doesn’t know the school board’s reasoning.

“I work for the board. The board made the decision so the board has to identify the reason if a request is made,” Sherburne said. “I’m not a voting member of the board so the board has to tell you what the reason was. And they have not told me about that.”