WESTBROOK – The Westbrook controversy involving the high school code of conduct, student suspensions and the resignation of the athletic director was heightened this week by calls for change, including a public request for School Committee member Suzanne Joyce to resign.

At a City Council meeting Monday, Westbrook radio personality Ray Richardson called for the council to establish a process for recalling elected officials – something the city does not have. He had previously pointed to Joyce for an alleged role in the code-of-conduct controversy in November.

A report released in February by Biddeford arbitrator John Alfano stated that an unnamed school board member, whose son was one of several members of the football team suspended, made calls to administration to discuss his discipline, and had “the appearance of special treatment” because Principal Jon Ross asked Superintendent Marc Gousse to be nearby during his appeal hearing. The suspensions of all the athletes involved in a weekend party where alcohol was served were subsequently lifted.

Joyce said Wednesday that, along with her husband, the two were respectful and supported the administrators of the high school during the hearing.

“We left on a very friendly basis,” she said, referring to the meeting. “We were no different than any other of the parents, and we were in shock when the suspensions were lifted.”

Joyce also said that people who read Alfano’s report come away with different interpretations, and said she has also been verbally attacked on social media by a small circle of people who interpret the report one way.

Last Wednesday, on Richardson’s show on WLOB, he said that he planned to initiate the process to implement a recall option, and if Joyce had not resigned by the time the process were in place, he would move forward with a recall effort aimed at her.

Richardson said this week he believes there are a small group of students in Westbrook that “have no boundaries because their parents appear to have no boundaries, and it’s harming our school district. I don’t see how we can change the system while leaving everyone intact.”

Joyce said she thinks some people are using the school controversy as a way to respond to her pending litigation with the city of Westbrook.

“I believe some of this does stem from the lawsuit,” she said.

Joyce sent a notice of intent to sue to the city in February, stating that she was wrongfully charged with hindering an investigation against a former school employee. The charge was dropped in September 2013. She has not yet filed the suit.

Alfano’s report also charged that the school department needs to draw clear lines for School Committee members’ involvement in other school programs, including booster organizations.

Joyce admitted Wednesday that she does “wear too many hats” in the community. “My fault is that I don’t know how to say no,” she said. “I have to take ownership of that, but I always thought I was helping.”

Richardson said he has heard first hand of the problems facing the district.

“I have had 25 teachers contact me and say they are actively looking for employment outside the school district,” he said. “It is not a positive trend, and it’s foolish to think that we can right the ship and leave the infrastructure in place exactly as it is.”

Richardson added that he’s heard comments from community members that establishing a recall process would be divisive in the community, but that he thinks the community is already divided.

He said while the school department is attempting to go through a process of reflection, “the incestuous culture” would make it difficult. Richardson believes that the school department should allow an outside organization to come in and critique it.

“Those outside eyes would be very helpful to this school district,” he said.

Marc Sawyer, who has served as athletic director since 2012, announced his resignation April 7, citing “the incestuous culture of the community, individuals placing their own needs ahead of the overall group, and the inability for many to understand appropriate boundaries.”

After investigating a report of a party involving students that occurred in October, Sawyer suspended some two-dozen athletes from their fall sports programs. However, on Nov. 8, Sawyer, along with Ross, lifted the suspensions for all the athletes, citing information that skewed their initial decision.

Due to the timing of when the student-athletes were reinstated – the same day as a playoff football game – school administrators were accused of making the decision solely to allow members of the team to compete. However, suspensions were also given, and then lifted, to students participating in soccer and track.

In the subsequent report on the controversy that was requested by Mayor Colleen Hilton, Alfano concluded that the suspensions were lifted as a result of complaints from at least three parents, who charged that Sawyer’s investigation into the party was inconsistent.

However, he also said that pieces of Sawyer’s investigation were flawed, including a decision by Sawyer to allow a girls soccer player who had attended the party to attend an awards banquet. Alfano’s report states that “this decision became the reason (or excuse) for the withdrawal of all the suspensions.”

This week, Sawyer, using a sports analogy, said in order to move forward, the school department needs to reflect and establish goals for “individual accountability. It’s halftime, and the first half for the community didn’t go so well,” he said Wednesday. “My plea to everyone is to put the needs of the community ahead of individual needs.”

Sawyer said that while he didn’t want to get into specific incidents, he saw his leadership style as causing “a great deal of pain for a lot of people.”

He added that his job was made more difficult by the fact that he grew up in Westbrook, which, he said, caused more people to question his decisions, based on whether he knew or didn’t know the people or student involved.

When asked whether he thought the department could change to accept his style, he replied, “No, not right now. It doesn’t appear to be what the community wants.”

Ross, who made the final decision to withdraw the 30 student-athlete suspensions in November, said Tuesday that he tried to talk Sawyer out of resigning, and that he respects Sawyer.

Ross said he realizes that Sawyer’s job was made more difficult by the fact that he grew up in Westbrook, and that for a lot of parents, it can be difficult to remain on “the same page” when it comes to discipline.

“I’m pretty firm on where I stand on discipline, and if anything, the controversy has just galvanized me to know that when we make a decision, we stand by the decision, whether people like it or not,” he said. “I think everyone learned a valuable lesson.”

He said that the Alfano report is accurate and that he encourages people to read the report in its entirety, instead of focusing on single sections.

Ross added that he also feels that substance use is the often-overlooked aspect of the controversy. “There’s a silver lining in everything, and we’ve had conversations about underage drinking that we wouldn’t have had if it wasn’t for this controversy,” he said.

Since February, Ross has taken the lead in organizing various committees made up of parents, staff and students, dedicated to supporting positive change in the department, looking at the code of conduct policy, and supporting youth substance use talks.

On Tuesday, the Westbrook Communities that Care coalition hosted the third in a series of community forums following the Alfano report, this time focusing on youth substance use. The forum was highlighted by a performance focusing on punishment by theater organization Maine Inside Out, which is made up of teens from the Long Creek Youth Development Center.

Prior to the performance, a number of Westbrook High School students shared some statistics from the 2013 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey about youth substance use in Westbrook, including positive numbers that Westbrook has an above-average number of students involved in extra-curricular activities. However, other facts, including that in 2013, 60 percent of Westbrook High School students reported that they believe there is no harm in smoking marijuana regularly, were also shared.

Westbrook High School students, meanwhile, shared their reaction to Sawyer’s resignation and concerns for where the school department is heading.

Cassidy Webster, a junior who is on the tennis team, said Tuesday that she hopes the problems that forced Sawyer to step down are “rectified quickly. The Westbrook School Department has some problems, and it will take strong leadership and drastic changes to make things better for the students and staff.”

Brooke Shaw, a junior who has been outspoken on the controversy since November, said the issue has caused stress on many students, and offered harsh words for administrators.

“They (Ross and Sawyer) have both pushed for the necessary actions needed to at least attempt to keep our athletes on a strict regime, however, our superintendent was not able to put his foot down and make the right decision,” she said. “We have been targeted with this issue for too long, and it is all because our superintendent was unable to conjure up his own opinion. He instead, relied on the comments from the argumentative parents of the suspended athletes.”

Gabriella Latini, also a junior who plays field hockey, said Tuesday, “As an athlete myself, I respect Mr. Sawyer’s resignation. I think it truly shows his integrity and respect for the Westbrook community. Although I am sad Mr. Sawyer is leaving, I respect him and hope Westbrook uses this as a learning experiment to better the climate and culture of WHS and the entire Westbrook community.”

Gousse said Monday that he is “invested in this community. I live here, my family is here, my investment in this organization and this community transcends an event.”

He said that he “takes to heart” the reasons for Sawyer’s resignation, but that he has reflected on them, and is confident that the school department is already doing things to respond.

Gousse said that since the Alfano report, the department has had training sessions on investigative procedures, as well as workshops on defining the roles, responsibilities, and boundaries for elected officials.

Gousse said he has reiterated multiple times to his staff that if a School Committee member approaches them, they are directed to come to him.

“If there are perceived boundary issues, come and tell me,” he said.

Gousse said that while he knows there are trust and accountability questions within the community right now, this single event does not “define us as a community.”

According to Gousse, since November, the code of conduct, which is being discussed under a policy review committee, has been upheld five times without any appeals, which he says speaks to accountability.

“Finger pointing and the blame game isn’t going to help us with our kids,” he said, responding to how the department can move forward. “What I’ve learned is that trust is earned, and it’s earned by consistency and follow-through, and a single event can turn that on its head.”

Sawyer, who last week expressed the difficulty in maintaining discipline at the high school without support from parents, said Wednesday that “being a parent is tough, but I’ve realized that being an athletic director is just a little bit tougher.”

The recall issue brought to the council by Richardson will likely go to the Committee of the Whole for study.