Hello all … again!

Another update to keep you in the loop.

After emailing (the letter from the previous update here) the superintendent, the board members, principals, faculty and staff members, this is the response I received from the president of the BOE on Thursday. I’m also including Mr. Hill’s response to them, followed by a reply from a parent Mr. Burkons, and below that is my response which I sent today.

Buckle up, this is going to be long, but all of you deserve complete transparency so we can move forward with Mr. Hill’s for the benefit our children and future student of this city:

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From Megan Walsh to …

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Dear Vivi & Rance,

I value and respect your advocacy and commitment to the success of our schools. As a whole, the Board of Education values and respects the voices of our community, and we take all concerns seriously.

We recognize that Mr. Hill has had a positive impact on many students over the course of his career. That said, I must correct several significant inaccuracies in your recent message.

Mr. Hill was not forced to resign, nor was he subject to bullying by the administration. He made the personal decision to resign, and his resignation was formally submitted and accepted following due process. Personnel matters are confidential by law, and while we cannot and will not discuss specific details publicly, we can unequivocally state that Mr. Hill’s departure was handled in accordance with district policy.

Claims that the superintendent has "unchecked authority" are equally inaccurate. The superintendent operates within a well-defined framework established by state law and board policy, and is accountable to the Board of Education. The Board provides oversight, approves key decisions, and evaluates the superintendent’s performance on an annual basis. 

As a district, we remain deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and staff diversity. We value the presence of educators from a wide range of backgrounds and identities, and we understand the unique impact that representation has on our students. These priorities remain front and center in our recruitment and retention efforts. We see real progress being made across all facets of diversity. Our school administration evaluates and revamps our hiring processes annually, working to eliminate bias and ensure fairness for all candidates.

The district’s teaching staff had 12% representation of underrepresented racial groups in 2018 and stands at 21% today. In 2018, 9% of our certificated staff (teachers, counselors, etc.) were African American. Currently, 15% are African American. That represents a 63% increase. It’s worth noting that in the larger national landscape, only 6% of public school teachers are African American.This increase has largely taken place in the core content areas and among our school counselors.

We see a similar trend among our central office and building administrators. In 2018, 5% of our administrators were from underrepresented groups. Today, 20% are from underrepresented groups, diversifying the perspectives present in decision-making.

Our goal does not stop with just these numbers. Of even greater importance is the feeling of inclusion and belonging. There is no end to that work; it is something we always strive for. I feel our district is a leader in these areas based upon the wide range of programming and services we have undertaken over the past several years. Often, part of that process is listening to the experiences of others and identifying how we can grow and improve. We survey staff regularly and try to make adjustments where and when we can. 

We are aware of ongoing contract negotiations and have full confidence in the collective bargaining process. Both parties—our administration and our valued educators—are working together in good faith to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that allows us to continue moving forward together.

We appreciate the engagement of our community and the opportunity to clarify misinformation. The strength of Beachwood Schools is within its students, families, and staff—and we remain committed to fostering a district grounded in integrity, inclusion, and educational excellence.

Thank you,

Megan

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Mrs. Megan Walsh

Beachwood Board of Education

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From Mr. Hill to …

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Board President Walsh,

I was forwarded the email you just sent Vivi and Rance Mack and I think it is important to send an email to you that documents that you were put on notice that some of the things you are telling people are untrue.

You wrote, "Mr. Hill was not forced to resign, nor was he subject to bullying by the administration. He made the personal decision to resign, and his resignation was formally submitted and accepted following due process."

I was told by my union representative who was in talks with district officials that "Kim (she meant Ken) says the BOE doesn't have to wait until the 9th to move to terminate - they can call a special meeting to terminate if you choose not to resign. And if they do that then you will stop being paid and receiving health insurance at that point". I was then told, "Just talked to Ken - if you resign your pay and benefits would go through August. If they move to terminate everything ends right then and there."

I was then told that resigning would likely stop Bob from reporting me to the office of professional standards, which would unfairly and dishonestly portray that I had improper sexualized communications with a student because I told her that she should consider joining the swim team because she had a prototypical swimmer's body.

For you to claim that  "Mr. Hill was not forced to resign, nor was he subject to bullying by the administration", when I only resigned due to these threats communicated via Ken to me through my union representation, is just as intentionally dishonest as your claim that "personnel issues are not confidential by law" (which it is not) and your statements at previous board meetings where you claimed that there is a long standing policy by the board and administration not to comment on personnel issues. You can't pretend like you believe what you are saying is true as uou were a board member when Bob sent open and public emails to the entire community disparaging staff members in relation to personnel issues like he did with Damion Creel and CJ Piro.

Please stop spreading false information to the public.

Mr. Hill

 

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From Mr. Burkons to Mr. Hill, the superintend, the board members, the mayor, and others …

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Mr. Hill,

I am sorry you are having to go through all this. Numerous people have reached out to me to advocate on your behalf, and I wanted to reach out to you, but I didn't know how to contact you. 

If what I have been told by others and if it is true, it is very troubling.  You were on paid administrative leave for the last couple months of the school year because you were being investigated you for these two things;

1.      Allegations that you had improper sexualized conversations with a 13 year old student because you told her she had a swimmer's body in the context of encouraging her to consider joining the swim team.  If this is accurate, that is insane and is no different than telling someone who is athletic and tall that they should consider joining the basketball team.  Just because someone, whether it be the child or parent, believes that a comment like this is sexualized, doesn't make it so. One would hope that when reputation damaging allegation like this was made against any teacher or staff member, let alone someone who has been a teacher in the district for over 20 years, that the administration would have their back, instead of stepping on their neck.  I don't know if anyone has pointed this out to you yet, but there is no way the administration can assert that they actually believed that telling this student that she had a swimmer's body, in the context it was said, was sexualizing her or having improper sexual conversations with her, because if they actually believed that, they would be legally required to report you to law enforcement as well as the state agency that oversees teachers.  My guess is they might try to do that now after reading this. However, that effort will fail because 1) no reasonable person would conclude that telling someone they had a swimmer's body in the context of trying to get them to consider joining the swim team, is a sexualized comment, and 2) the timeline will show they only made such a report to the state agency after reading this. 

2.      Allegations that you took confidential student work and/or information off a school computer and sent it to your personal computer. Someone told me that while this sounds bad, all you did was forward stuff you wanted to work on at home to your personal email, as that is the email that works best on your computer at home and there isn't any claim that confidential student information got in the wrong hands or was made public.  The teacher who told me about this said that this is something she has done many times, as she is sure others have as well.  The teacher went on to point out that last year when the video the two female students made for a class with their views on the Gaza conflict got out into the public, and actually caused real damage, the teacher responsible for this screwup wasn't threatened with termination if he didn't resign, and there is no comparison between the seriousness and repercussions of what he did, and what you did. 

I can only imagine the stress and anxiety you are going through knowing that the school district threatened to report you to state and professional officials over the swim body comment, if you didn't resign.  Even without being reported to state officials, just the whispers that are currently going around the community can ruin your reputation. 

If I were you, I would come out very publicly and defend yourself.  If you stay silent, people will naturally think the worst. While I am far from an expert in employment law but I am fairly certain that if it is established that you only resigned due to the pressure and threats communicated to you by the school administration, it will be viewed by the courts in the same light as involuntary termination.

I am sorry that any teacher would have to go through this, let alone one who has worked in the district for 20 years. Please feel free to reach out to me if you would like to discuss at 216-832-6771.

Mike Burkons

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From Vivi and Rance to everyone mentioned above …

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Dear Megan and everyone Cc’d and possibly Bcc’d,

There are deep concerns regarding the developments surrounding Mr. Hill's resignation. It has become increasingly clear that there are significant untruths that need to be addressed, and it is imperative that we take action to uncover the actual truth.

Mr. Hill's email response to you all clearly states that not only was he pressured but actually blackmailed into handing in a resignation letter, which by the way only goes in effect mid-August 2025. This is a troubling indication of the dynamics at play within the school’s leadership. It raises questions about the integrity of the decision-making processes and the environment being fostered. And we, the parents, students and community members cannot allow such conduct to go unchecked.

Furthermore, Mr. Burkons’ email highlights the urgent need for transparency and accountability. It is evident that we must confront the issues within the inner workings our schools’ leadership. The way things have been handled thus far is not only concerning but also detrimental to the trust our community places in the system. The students, faculty and parents deserve that the governance within is conducted with the utmost integrity.

The truth must come to light surrounding Mr. Hill’s circumstances, and we all have the responsibility to advocate for a culture of openness and transparency to pave the way for a brighter and honest future for Beachwood Schools. 

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Best,
Vivi & Rance, proud parents Fiona (Class of '30) and Phineas (Class of '31)

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This concludes the end of our broadcast for today :o)