This from the Herald-Leader:The lawyer representing a suspended Central Kentucky principal says his client felt threatened during an altercation with a student last month.
Nicholas County High School principal Joseph F. Orazen, 35, appeared in Nicholas District Court for an arraignment Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to fourth-degree assault."He's devastated," said Orazen's attorney, David Franklin of Lexington. "It's a bad situation he tried to avoid at all costs and couldn't do it."
According to Franklin, Green refused to leave school property when he returned after school to pick up a confiscated cell phone, and "He wasn't going to take no for an answer."
"Believe me, there's a whole lot more to this than a 10-second video," Franklin said.
We do not yet have Orazen's side of the story in any detail, but the dispute seems to have revolved around whether Orazen was,
- advised by Green
- challenged by Green, or
- threatened by Green
Dusty Green described the altercation to WLEX this way,
"He's like - 'Don't make me slam you in front of everybody' - and I was like...'I don't think you can do that'. ...not saying, like, he couldn't, like, I don't think you're allowed."
But that is only the boy's story, and it seems clear that he was - at a minimum - not following school rules, and not following directions. Defiance is how situations get escalated.
After 26 years as a school principal, listening to all kinds of kids talk about all kinds of behaviors, I'm pretty sure of one thing - with the rarest of exceptions, when a student is in trouble, he's going to tell you that part of the truth that makes him look good. He's also going to leave some stuff out.
It is not a hard to see how Orazen could have felt a direct challenge to his authority; a serious concern for a principal. But was he really threatened? At present, that argument hasn't been supported but may take shape in court on April 1st.
Orazen's biggest problem may be whether or not he gets the benefit of the doubt from the court.
In most cases, people understand how difficult it is to work with some students. (I can't tell you how many parents [usually Dads] who told me they wouldn't have my job for all the tea in China.) In most cases, the principal should get the benefit of the doubt. But prior complaints filed against Orazen may throw that into question.
Since 2006, at least seven formal grievances were filed against Orazen citing angry confrontations.
Incredibly, Orazen was once suspended without pay for four days after refusing three requests from his own superintendent for a meeting! How Orazen kept his principalship after that stunt is astounding.
Superintendent Greg Reid might have chosen to slam Orazen instead of suspending him. But he couldn't.
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