SCS principal suspended during harassment, grade-changing investigation

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Kingsbury High principal Terry Ross is suspended with pay pending the outcome of an outside investigation, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson said Tuesday. 

The investigation surrounds allegations of harassment of teachers and improperly changed grades. 

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SCS board chairman discusses need for "impartial, thorough and comprehensive investigation or investigations to determine the facts so that we can let the facts determine the appropriate board action." Jennifer Pignolet/The Commercial Appeal

Ross was notified of the suspension on Friday and the school started the year Monday with a substitute principal, Hopson said. He hopes to have an update on the investigation in the next week. Butler Snow law firm is conducting the investigation. 

Ross could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. 

Hopson said he wants to give due process, but if any of the allegations are found to be true, he will deal with them swiftly.

"If you're going to mistreat people, you can't work for me," Hopson said. 

While grade-changing allegations are under investigation, Hopson said the focus is more on the claims of "harassment and intimidation." 

"We've heard multiple times from multiple people that there are issues there and when we hear those issues, we work to get them resolved," Hopson said. 

He said after reviewing the data, the grade-changing allegation may have been a misunderstanding by a teacher, and there may be "a legitimate reason for what happened."

Improper grade-changing is under investigation at a half-dozen other schools, however, and was found to be pervasive at Trezevant High two years ago. 

One principal, Monekea Smith, was demoted from Hamilton High following a similar grade-tampering investigation. 

More: Hamilton High students protest principal's suspension

Smith was charged with conduct unbecoming to a member of the teaching position and neglect of duty. 

According to the charging document, failing grades at Hamilton were changed to passing ones at the end of last school year without the knowledge or justification of the teacher who gave the original grades. The changes were made with Smith's login, according to the document.

Timeline: Shelby County Schools grade-tampering scandal

At Trezevant, a secretary and former state championship-winning football coach Teli White were fired as a result of an investigation that revealed more than 1,000 grades were improperly changed over a four-year span. 

At six other schools, investigators reported finding a high number of grades that were changed on transcripts. Investigators are now working to determine if those grades were changed according to school district policy. 

A state investigation is also underway into Trezevant, at the request of the Shelby County district attorney. 

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.