Delco School District Under Fire Following Upper Darby Superintendent's Departure
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- Dr. Richard Dunlap, a longtime educator, and superintendent of Upper Darby schools, clashed with school board members over policy, leading to his dismissal, according to sources and State Representative Margo Davidson.
"Absolutely forced out," Davidson said of Dunlap.
But, the school board had a different take, announcing on Tuesday night that Dunlap would be retiring. This comes after weeks of speculation about his future at Upper Darby. "This is what got us into this mess," said Davidson. "We were not informed that the superintendent was on leave. When reporters star to question where is our superintendent weeks before school starts, they were told it was a personnel issue, he was on administrative leave."
Davidson and sources say Dunlap ran afoul of the board. It's said he had ambitious policies to remap elementary school boundaries to create equity and relieve crowding in schools. It was claimed at last night's board meeting the education department and the federal government are examining the issue.
"These are some real issues of discrimination that need to be looked at," Davidson said. "Dr. Dunlap was just a breath of fresh air."
In a statement, the district pointed only to the fact that Dunlap was retiring after using vacation time and challenged the allegations raised by Davidson.
We also paid a visit to Dr. Dunlap's house and nobody answered. Some parents say they're only getting half the story from district leaders.
Dunlap will retire on September 7. As for the U.S. Attorney's Office and any possible federal investigation, they would neither confirm or deny the existence of one.