CLARK COUNTY, IN (WAVE) - Students offered an impassioned last-ditch plea Wednesday night to save their principal.
It's not often that you see teenagers care so much about who's educating them, but students at Jeffersonville High School are not pleased about the change made in the leadership at their school and they had strong words for the people who lead the Greater Clark County Schools.
Cameron Blankenship might only be in high school, but he's not intimidated by facing down the Greater Clark County School Board.
"With all due respect, you're not fooling any of us and do not make us out for fools," he said. "You make your decisions for your own personal political gain on your own time."
In a scene right out of Hollywood's Lean On Me, Blankenship and his fellow Jeffersonville High School classmates tried one more time to save their now-former principal, James Sexton.
"Five years ago, I wouldn't have sent my dog to Jeff High, now it's a more respectable school," said one student.
"We are growing and moving forward and James Sexton is the cause of this," Bakeshop said.
The three students who addressed the board said they're not alone in wanting Sexton back at JHS. They say parents and teachers are with them.
Sexton was placed on leave in October and later reassigned to Clark County Middle-High School.
Both the GCCS superintendent and board president say politics had nothing to do with the decision.
"This board has nothing politically to gain," President Christina Gilkey said. "The only thing we have to gain is when our students leave us and they're prepared."
"There's some people that think that there's some other conspiracy behind this, that the board told me what to do or whatnot and I will tell you without question, this was my decision," GCCS Superintendent Doctor Andrew Melin said.
Melin has only said there was a difference of philosophies between Sexton and him. Wednesday, he said because of confidentiality issues, he can't say more.
Melin added the students do not deserve all that's happened at their school and there has been a lot. The assistant principal appointed to take over Jeff High -- David Milburn -- was removed after school officials learned at the end of October that he was charged with shoplifting an iPad and Samsung tablet from a Louisville Walmart.
Copyright 2012, WAVE 3 News. All rights reserved.
Cameron Blankenship
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WAVE, a Raycom Media Station. 