News Photo by Shannon Vivero Audience members stand after being asked to do so by a parent to show support for Ella White Principal Tom Berriman at a school board meeting Monday at Alpena High School.

ALPENA – After a termination hearing that lasted nearly nine hours on Monday evening and early Tuesday morning, members of the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education say they acted in the public’s best interest when they decided to vote next month on the non-renewal of suspended Ella White Elementary School Principal Tom Berriman’s contract.

“The board is very aware of the public’s interest in this matter,” board President Anna Meinhardt said. “The board hopes that the public will understand that we have thoroughly reviewed all evidence in this matter and in great detail. Most of the relevant evidence in this matter is not available to the public. Board members have been elected to review all evidence and exercise its judgment in the district’s best interest, which I am confident that all board members have done to the best of their ability.”

The board reached a decision to vote on the non-renewal of Berriman’s contract by a 6-to-1 vote and will make its decision on March 27.

Eric Lawson was the only board member to vote no.

“We absolutely represent the public,” Lawson said. “I took the comments from the public very seriously.”

After the board reached its decision, Berriman’s supporters took to social media to voice their frustrations.

“I’m embarrassed,” Charleen Dubie said. “Embarrassed by the school board I voted for. Embarrassed to work for this administration. Embarrassed that the community I live in has come to this.”

Berriman has been on paid administrative leave since November for his alleged mishandling of two incidents involving a special-needs student.

He has served as principal of Ella White since the beginning of the 2021-22 school year.

Attorneys for both Berriman and the school board, as well as Berriman and members of the board, discussed the incidents at length in closed session during the hearing. That included a review of video of both incidents — videos the district previously said it could not release because it didn’t have the consent of the parents of the student involved.

“Anything discussed in closed session, unfortunately, we can’t be transparent with the public, because of FERPA laws that are federal laws under the privacy act,” Meinhardt said, referring to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. “The board is sensitive to the student’s privacy, including the disclosure of protected student records.”

When the meeting returned to open session, Berriman apologized for not making better choices and said he was dealing with anxiety and stress on the day both incidents occurred.

“I’m a human being,” he said. “I acted. I tried to keep everybody safe. I’m not saying I did nothing wrong. All I want is an opportunity to show everybody I can grow from this.”

The district said Berriman violated several board policies, using “unnecessary and unreasonable force” in doing so.

Following the meeting, Berriman released a statement on Facebook.

“I want to thank every person who has reached out to support myself and my family during this process,” Berriman said in the statement. “I fully accept the decision made by the APS School Board. They went through the same 9-hour ordeal we all did and maintained their attention every minute. As an administrator, my job is to uphold board policy and they felt I didn’t live up to that standard. We all try to teach our kids that we all have consequences for mistakes.”

Lawson said that the school district has issues with students’ behavior and was one of two board members who voiced a hope that there is a path forward for Berriman serving in some kind of administrative role.

“As we learn more about behavior problems I recognize that state level discipline mandates have not been effective and finding a real way to implement new protocols is imperative,” Lawson said. “We want to take care of these kids.

“I think what is most important is to vote with your conscience,” Lawson said. “We have a very committed and passionate educator before us, I would not want to lose a resource like that. I would have preferred a path for him to be restored to administration. Now, he did not follow certain protocols, there should be some sort of discipline for that.”

While some residents in attendance Monday voiced their support of Meaghan Black who has stepped in as principal at Ella White in Berriman’s absence, after the meeting, dozens of commenters on Berriman’s post voiced their support.

“We also try to teach our kids forgiveness and compassion. I’m sorry you weren’t given the same,” Erica Hainstock, an Ella White parent, said.