Fosters Opinion: Rodgers did not have to resign as OR Principal

The below is an editorial published today in Fosters.

Rogers did not have to resign as OR principal

Outgoing Oyster River High School Principal Laura Rogers' letter of resignation should be read with some skepticism.

In her opening remarks, published June 25 by Foster's Daily Democrat, Rogers writes in part:

"The current political climate and the tension that exists in the relationship between the administration and many members of the School Board have led me to this decision. Unfortunately, there have been too many occasions in the last two or three years where I have felt that the majority of the Board has had little understanding or respect for what is taking place at the high school and the work that I do here."

Had Rogers ended her letter there, this editorial would be written. But she continued by laying blame on Internet postings:

"There are past and present board members who regularly post to an Internet blog that supports anonymous, vitriolic comments that often malign not only central office administrators and building principals ... This blog has caused some of my faculty and staff members a lot of pain and anxiety and I can find no value in it."

Rogers should not blame the Internet. Just the opposite, she and others should be thankful that the Internet provides a way to bring such beliefs and thoughts to light.

This doesn't mean all those who post through blogs and on message boards should be taken seriously. Quite the contrary, hiding behind a pseudonym or signing on anonymously undercuts the credibility of someone's comments — a point apparently missed by Rogers.

But there has been enough written on message boards and through blogs to believe that the Oyster River Cooperative School District has some problems.

Rogers, therefore, had two choices. She could look past the anonymous messages and vitriol, and address the problems discussed by responsible postings. Or she could quit.

The courageous thing to do would have been to draw the critics out from behind their anonymity and confront the problems.

Should Rogers choose to become principal elsewhere, or assume any other public administrative post, she will find the Internet ever-present and abused.

In short, the answer is not to blame the Internet. It is to use the information it provides as a tool to solve problems or to discount idle chatter.

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While we are on the subject of Internet postings and the like, it is worth noting that Foster's Daily Democrat has received a significant number of anonymous e-mails concerning recent problems involving the Oyster River School District.

It is difficult, if not often impossible, to take much of this information seriously. Those who provide information while identifying themselves are considered as important news sources. It is their information that often leads to stories and investigations.

This doesn't mean that someone who contacts Foster's with information has to be willing to have their name published. It does mean, however, that a reporter or editor needs to know who she or he is talking to or exchanging e-mails with in order to contextualize the information they are providing.

Such has been the case with recent stories generated concerning the Oyster River School District.