Those who know Dr. DiBacco are not surprised that she has been vindicated

Those who know Dr. DiBacco are not surprised thatshe has been vindicated
EDITOR:
Last week the State Board of Education upheld the recommendation of Stephen Teetor, hearing officer, that Dr. Sandra J. DiBacco acted "without intent to falsify information" regarding the application of Struthers teacher Cheryl Richards for permanent certification in special education. It should be of no surprise to anyone that Dr. DiBacco was vindicated, and therefore, will NOT have her superintendent's license or any other certification she holds with the State of Ohio revoked. Because of the absolute absurdity of this attempted character assassination on Dr. DiBacco, we have a few facts to present:
1) The anonymous phone calls made to the ODE's Office of Professional Conduct accusing Dr. DiBacco of falsifying information were made by two Struthers Middle School teachers and a janitorial tech whose names are recorded in testimony. These individuals took "teacher lounge talk" and turned it into "teacher lounge vengeance" to get even with the superintendent they personally dislike. They have accomplished nothing more than wasting time, energy, and money for the Struthers Board of Education through lost time in wages for numerous school employees who had to appear in Columbus for testimony over the past year, not to mention the costs for the hearing officer. These two teachers need to focus on instruction, stay in their classrooms, and be held accountable for every student passing the state mandated tests. As for the janitorial tech, go back to cleaning ... what you were hired to do.
2) In sworn testimony, the lead lawyer for the Office of Professional Conduct testified that the State of Ohio operates without protocol or written guidelines when deciding to proceed with anonymous tips. The same lawyer testified that the Office of Professional Conduct is working on developing such written guidelines at the present time. Shame on that office. These are the same people holding 617 school districts in the State of Ohio accountable for written policy and procedure guidelines of operation and, they don't have any of their own.
3) Shame of The Vindicator and TV Channels 33, 27 and 21 who once again attempted to make professional educators in Ohio look like idiots. You should have been smart enough to have "smelled a rat" in these accusations from the start. Why would any superintendent in Ohio risk their credentials and career by falsifying information on a teacher's certificate application? At most, what actually happened was simply a written miscommunication on the certificate application that should have been noticed by the Office of Certification BEFORE they issued Ms. Richards a new permanent certificate.
As the sister and brothers of Dr. DiBacco, we are proud to say that Sandi is an extremely intelligent and well educated individual who was born to lead. Holding a bachelor's degree in business, a bachelor's degree in education, a master's degree in business, and a doctoral degree in education, she has the kind of credentials it takes to be superintendent of a school district. She is surrounded by family and friends who abide by the law and, have never been arrested or sentenced to prison.
While you can disagree about decisions and recommendations she makes to the BOE, you will never be able to destroy her reputation. Dr. DiBacco's character is built upon a strong work ethic and sound morals and values. Her tenacity and commitment to the students, parents and community of Struthers is personified in her accomplishments as superintendent in Struthers over the past five years.
While superintendent, she has moved the Struthers City School District from "academic watch" to "continuous improvement" on the state of Ohio's local report card. She has led the district to the NCLB designation of "meeting adequate yearly progress," something neighboring school districts with excellent ratings haven't been able to do. She has completed a construction project that included the demolition of three buildings, the construction of two schools and the renovation of another without ever interrupting a child's education.
AGATHA VAN BROCKLIN, Poland
RON DiBACCO, Struthers
DON DiBACCO, Howland