As of Thursday, August 30th, Director of Operations Herb Sheldon has been placed on leave until further notice at Delaware Academy of Public Safety & Security. The notice to staff did not indicate whether it is a paid or an unpaid leave.
In addition, Office Manager Tara Williams has also been placed on leave until further notice.
I find the timing on this very ironic in this developing series of events. On August 22nd, I wrote an article exposing Sheldon for the “ghost students” at DAPSS. These were students who were never at the school but were counted for enrollment purposes. Less than ten days, the two people at the school who were in charge of this process are placed on leave.
I would have to imagine, due to this being a personnel matter, it would be a paid leave pending the results of an investigation. Given that the Delaware Department of Education went into the school to do an impromptu student count in December and failed to mention any of this during the school’s formal review last Winter, I can only imagine what happened after I posted my article on August 22nd. Someone has a ton of explaining to do.
Margie Lopez-Waite, the Head of School at DAPSS, has a lot on her plate with this school! It will be interesting to see how this unfolds!
Sheldon was the Head of School until Margie Lopez-Waite took over In July after serving a brief term as the Board President.