Concord students, parents and faculty ask board for transparency after quick principal appointment

Concord High School students told the Brandywine School District Board of Education on May 12 that the district did not follow a transparent hiring process when it announced a new principal for Concord.

"We are very frustrated that the position was filled without a chance for all candidates to apply," Concord student Mikayla Michaelson told the board during public comment, asking the board to explain why Concord did not have the same open search process used at Mount Pleasant High School. "We want to believe that qualifications, experience, and leadership matter more than personal connection, but this decision sends the wrong message to our generation."

The students said a petition they circulated was signed by 952 students, parents and community members asking for a fair process. Another Concord student, Molly Andrews, said the district’s lack of transparency undermines trust and asked the board to give the community the same opportunity for input used at other schools. "At the very least, they deserve transparency and a fair process," Andrews said.

Speakers named Jeffrey Lawson during public comment, and students told the board the district announced the appointment without a broader posting or community input. Jeffrey Lawson is listed elsewhere in the meeting as the principal of Talley Middle School; the students said the appointment appeared to be related to his relationship with Superintendent Lisa Lawson. Students characterized the concern as about process rather than a personal attack on any individual. Andrews referenced a reported $8,425 pay raise tied to the move and asked the board to account for the step and the process by which it was approved.

Board members discussed personnel- and contract-related questions during the meeting. Later in the session the board moved to recess to executive session to discuss a personnel matter; the motion to recess to executive session was made and seconded and was approved by the board. The transcript does not record a public vote reversing the appointment or the staffing decision during open session.

In response to public comments, board members and staff did not cite a specific published vacancy notice for the Concord principal position during the public meeting. Commenters said they were not given the same opportunity to apply or provide input that had been used in other, previously advertised principal searches in the district.

What happened next: the board recessed to executive session to consider personnel matters, and the meeting record shows subsequent personnel actions were handled in executive session and in later approved personnel items. The district did not provide a public timeline or further details about the hiring process or its next steps in response to the public comment during open session.

Why it matters: Concord students, staff and community members said they view the hiring process as a test of district transparency and equity. The board’s choice to move into executive session for personnel matters means some procedural questions may be handled privately; board members and the superintendent will determine whether to provide additional public information after any executive-session deliberations.

Reporting note: The students framed their remarks as requests for transparency and fair hiring practices. The transcript contains the quoted language above from Mikayla Michaelson and Molly Andrews during the public comment period; the board’s formal personnel deliberations moved to executive session and therefore are not fully detailed in the public record.