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Old 09-08-2007, 12:58 PM
katyseagull katyseagull is offline
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Default Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

Just a warning - the topic below concerns a dead child.....


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This lady in my city completely forgot about her little daughter and left her all day in her hot car while she went to work at a middle school where she is an assistant principal. Tragically, the girl died. The local prosecutor decided not to press charges. I don’t know, I’ve mixed feelings on this. A great amount of compassion and yet disbelief that anyone could be so negligent.

Now we come to learn that Brenda Slaby had actually been warned on several occasions not to leave her baby in the car while she went inside her other daughter's day care center.

People in my town are horrified. The parents at her school are sending hundreds of emails and phone calls (not to mention talking on forums) threatening to pull their kids out of the school if she isn't fired. But the school has said they are bound by a contract. By all accounts she was a pretty good and reliable employee. Her friends and the prosecutor are supporting this woman and accuse the rest of the town of being uncompassionate and creating a mob mentality.


So I ask the lounge this - Does gross negligence of your own child justify dismissal from your job if you work in a school? Are these parents being reasonable to demand Brenda Slaby’s firing?
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Old 09-08-2007, 01:10 PM
What? What? is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

If she's been warned several times she should not only lose her job but be prosecuted too.
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Old 09-08-2007, 02:00 PM
daveT daveT is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

I thought Ohio had laws against negligence and child endangerment.

Why isn't this woman being prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter and the above?

I don't know if I could justify firing her, as this isn't work-related, but I don't deny the people's concern. I certainly would not trust my children under this woman's care. If she can't take care of her own children, then she can't take care of mine.

The underlying problem is that she does work in administration, and that is an indirect impact on the children. If she was the cook, or a teacher, I would have greater concern.

I think that the way that the school is handling this is horrible, calling people "mob mentality." I can't understand why they don't see your perspective. I would be more inclined to take my kid out of this school, especially if I was paying for it, since it is clear that they have no care for kids or the parents.

I don't get protocols. I understand the underlying spirit of them, and they are put in place for a reason. The problem is that small minded people misinterpret them and then hide behind them to decline making tough decisions. But there should be protocols that people should meet certain eligibility requirement to not only receive the job, but to maintain it as well. From this perspective, I could say that she should lose her job.

Sorry about the woman, but I hope that the state is taking away her other child. Why wasn't anyone calling the state for her child? I doubt that this is the only example of blatant negligence.
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Old 09-08-2007, 02:22 PM
Rick Nebiolo Rick Nebiolo is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

If this person worked as let's say a housecleaner, waitress or cashier wouldn't it be a slam dunk that she would be prosecuted (and have her other child taken away)?

~ Rick
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Old 09-08-2007, 04:46 PM
katyseagull katyseagull is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

This picture shows how Brenda Slaby backed her SUV up to a school entrance to unload her doughnuts from the rear hatch. She came out to the car at least twice to unload and move it back to the parking lot. Wouldn't you see a child in the back seat if you were backing your car up? Does anyone here own an SUV and is it possible to see a sleeping kid if you are turned around to back up and the kid is directly behind the driver's seat?









According to the prosecutor, under Ohio law "a mistake is not a crime".

[ QUOTE ]
Leaving the child in the car for the work day was "a substantial lapse of due care" but did not meet the definition of reckless conduct necessary for prosecution, said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White.
.

"...Cecilia's mother simply, albeit tragically, forgot that Cecilia was asleep in her car seat when she arrived at work early Thursday morning," White said in a statement released by his office. "As bad as that appears, it is not a perverse disregard of a known risk."

[/ QUOTE ]



Lounge lawyers, what does this mean? The prosecutor says that the

"Ohio Supreme Court says negligence is not the standard for this type of crime."



Watch the Today Show report on this story
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Old 09-08-2007, 04:56 PM
katyseagull katyseagull is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

[ QUOTE ]
If this person worked as let's say a housecleaner, waitress or cashier wouldn't it be a slam dunk that she would be prosecuted (and have her other child taken away)?

~ Rick

[/ QUOTE ]


Rick,

No her other child has not been taken away. According to the prosecutor and her friends, she is an excellent parent [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

A number of people here in Cincinnati happen to agree with you. Just recently we've seen a poor mom lose custody of her kids after leaving them in a car while she went into some store or something (they were not injured), and another mom lose custody of her kids because her house was filthy. Another couple lost custody of their 2 year old after failure to watch her in the front yard. She was found alone, playing in the gutter of her street. All 3 of these moms were of a lower socio-economic class than Brenda Slaby.

Do you think the prosecutor is swayed by her status (she lives in an upscale community and drives a Mercedes, I believe) or do you think he is merely compassionate and gets that it was an unintentional accident?
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Old 09-08-2007, 04:59 PM
blackize blackize is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

I don't think the school board should be able to dismiss her so long as her job performance hasn't been affected. I certainly wouldn't rehire her after her contract is up though.

I do think she should lose her job, but it should come as a result of being prosecuted and put in prison. I don't know what Ohio state laws look like for negligent homicide, negligent manslaughter, and depraved indifference, but if this isn't clearly unlawful, you should see about lobbying to get the law changed.
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  #8  
Old 09-08-2007, 05:01 PM
blackize blackize is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

[ QUOTE ]

Do you think the prosecutor is swayed by her status (she lives in an upscale community and drives a Mercedes, I believe)

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes I think this is the case.

[ QUOTE ]
do you think he is merely compassionate and gets that it was an unintentional accident?

[/ QUOTE ]

Even if it is completely accidental, she should not be responsible for the care of others. At the very least her other children should be taken away. I'd like to see her locked up for this though.

Edit: I also think that the time of you and others in the community would be better spent writing to the prosecutor, district attorney, and the governor to see to it that this case is prosecuted. Make it clear that they will be in danger of not getting re-elected if they don't take on this case. The school board may in fact be contractually obligated to do nothing while the district attorney is free to charge her with a variety of crimes.
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Old 09-08-2007, 05:06 PM
katyseagull katyseagull is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

If she had been charged with a crime it would be much easier for the school to release her from her contract. The fact that she hasn't been charged with anything makes it much more difficult.

I'm not sure how she should be punished. I wouldn't want to see her rot in jail but I don't feel she should ever be allowed to work with children or be a babysitter or anything.


As for what you said about negligent homicide and depraved indifference, it's very surprising that she does not qualify for either of these, isn't it? The Union Township police had even recommended she be charged with child endangering. But she wasn't.
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  #10  
Old 09-08-2007, 05:24 PM
blackize blackize is offline
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Default Re: Should Vice Principal Lose Her Job? - (*Warning-Gruesome topic\")

[ QUOTE ]

If she had been charged with a crime it would be much easier for the school to release her from her contract. The fact that she hasn't been charged with anything makes it much more difficult.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah this is what I meant about the school board being forced to honor her contract. Since it seems that what she does in her personal life short of committing crimes should not be held against her business life.

I definitely think there are several crimes she can be charged with here and it is surprising that she isn't being charged with anything. Getting her convicted of one of these crimes will surely prevent her from working with children again and at least get her other children out of the house. The fact that she has been warned about this very behavior multiple times before tells me that she needs to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
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