Parents and students at an Anne Arundel charter rallied behind their principal who will return to his post Monday after allegations by the county Department of Social Services were found to be without merit.
“I just would like to thank the [Chesapeake Science Point Charter School] parents and students for their support during this difficult time,” said Fatih Kandil, whom the Anne Arundel school system temporarily reassigned about six weeks ago.
Allegations in the community were that Kandil made students do pushups in class for not following certain school policies. School officials could not confirm this information or to which position Kandil was reassigned, because they cannot discuss personnel matters.
“Social Services found that all the allegations were invalid and were not accurate,” said Kandil.
During the investigation, parents organized a fundraiser to help Kandil pay legal fees he accrued from hiring lawyers during the investigation, Kandil said.
They lamented their leader?s departure at a time when they said the school was going through some rough patches.
“All I can tell you is that it?s fantastic,” said Nancy Kolodiej, parent of two eighth-graders at the school, about Kandil?s return.
“They reallyneed him at the school.”
Next year, the school will eliminate the ninth grade with the sixth through eighth grades remaining, said school spokesman Spear Lancaster. Enrollment is 219 students in sixth through ninth grades.
The school abandoned the idea of getting a new building to include more ninth- and 10th-graders.
Superintendent Kevin Maxwell in January gave the school a month to “cure” several problems, including hiring a special education teacher and securing building documents about how they used space within their building.
The school has been on probation since the 2006-07 school year, school officials said.
The School Board will decide the school?s fate March 5, with options ranging from keeping the school on probation to closing, said school system spokesman Bob Mosier.
Physics teacher Ali Tuna, who could not be reached for comment, had been temporarily reassigned pending a Social Services investigation and can return to the charter school. The school system would not comment on Tuna?s allegations.
