Trussville schools superintendent Pattie Neill requests leave of absence amid ‘death notebook’ concerns

Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill in 2012. (Frank Couch/fcouch@al.com) al.com

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Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill requested a 60-day leave of absence during a special meeting called in the wake of revelations that school officials had mishandled student threats.

Many Trussville parents have called for Neill’s removal after it was revealed that school officials in the district had been aware of a threatening notebook for a year before taking action to ensure student safety.

The notebook allegedly contained names of more than three dozen students the person wanted to kill.

The meeting room of the Trussville City School Board overflowed with parents and students who wanted to speak. Many wore #Free Salem T-shirts in support of the principal of Hewitt-Trussville High School.

Tim Salem, the principal of Hewitt-Trussville High School, went on administrative leave earlier this week. Parents have protested district administrators since the case became public.

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Many of the speakers asked for the termination or resignation of Neill. Some said the notebook incident was just their latest frustration with the superintendent. They also said not enough communication had been made available to parents and students and criticized Neill for failing to appear at a recent Trussville City Council meeting.

“When good things happen in our school system, we will celebrate them,” said Laura Maddox, a parent of high school students. “But when hard things happen, we will not cover them up.”

The latest threats were first reported to city officials on Sept. 16. Parents were not informed until Sept. 26, one speaker said. Another student had first reported a notebook with death threats in October 2021.

The student has been sent to an alternative school, but some parents said 20 days in that environment would not be enough to make students feel safe or to help the one who made threats.

Ethan Sumners, a student at the high school, said he had been named in the student’s notebook. He said he was not afraid of the student, but was concerned with how the incident was handled. He said Neill had not been visible at the high school.

“The students do not agree with the way she operates this school district,” he said.

One parent read a letter from the accused student’s mother. She said Neill did not reach out to her family after news of the situation broke. In the letter, the mother also said other students were involved in the creation of the notebook. She was not notified about any threats before September of this year.

“If my son was a true threat, we would be planning funerals instead of discipline,” the parent wrote.

She said the incident has caused the family enormous stress. She apologized on behalf of her son, but said district officials also need accountability.

“My kid messed up,” the mother wrote. “What kid doesn’t? He has taken his punishment much more than any kid could. You messed up. What is your punishment?”

Assistant Superintendent Jim Kirkland will act as a temporary superintendent, according to news reports.

Trussville Board of Education Vice President Kim DeShazo released a statement yesterday that was published in the Trussville Tribune. In it, she wrote that the notebook was discovered in October 2021 and the student was monitored for the rest of the year. He did not have any other disciplinary actions until the threats that occurred a couple weeks ago.

DeShazo wrote that the notebook should have been reported to the school resource office to conduct an investigation. That didn’t happen until the recent threats.

“While it was determined that no criminal charges would be brought against this student, he has been placed in the alternative learning center. Board members were first informed of this situation – including facts about the notebook and allegations of harassment – on September 21, 2022. This, too, is unacceptable,” DeShazo wrote.

This story has been updated.

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