Fayette Middle Schools Director Canned

Associate Principal Demoted

This from H-L:

Fayette middle schools director resigns

after allegations he helped candidates

The Fayette County Public Schools' director of middle schools has resigned, after he provided two people with an advance list of questions and other material a district committee used to screen applicants for jobs as principals, school district records show.

Middle Schools Director Michael Ernst submitted his resignation on June 1, according to the documents.

Crawford Middle School associate principal Michael Bayless, one of the people who received the questions, was demoted to classroom teacher and suspended 10 days without pay, according to district records.

Bayless was interviewed by the screening committee in April and got a high score, using answers and other information supplied by Ernst, the records said.

The other person who improperly received screening materials is not employed by the Fayette schools and never went through an interview for principal, Superintendent Stu Silberman said Wednesday.

Ernst declined to comment Wednesday. Bayless said only that he had acknowledged his actions and accepted the consequences.

Ernst was one of several administrators on the screening committee, which this spring interviewed candidates seeking jobs as principals for next year. The panel used prepared questions and certain "look fors," or key points, that candidates' responses should include, Silberman said.

"A person would have a distinct advantage in knowing what the questions and answers were ahead of time," he said...