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They also said they will keep their elementary-age children home and picket in front of the school to object to the district restoring John J. Smalley to the post, said Tammy Gensch, a member of the group and parent of an elementary and middle school student.
“I really think people who work with children need to be held up to a higher standard,” Gensch said.
The group also has organized a petition and is encouraging parents, students and community members to file formal complaints, she said.
“As parents in West Salem, we have to make a stand,” she said. “The school board cannot touch Mr. Smalley any longer. The power has shifted to us.”
Smalley, principal of the school since July 2005, was fired Jan. 25 for what district officials termed “neglect of duty and dishonesty surrounding his job performance in recent months.”
He had been placed on administrative leave Dec. 11, 2007, two days after he was arrested for a reported domestic disturbance with his wife.
Smalley was charged with battery and disorderly conduct in La Crosse County Circuit Court but pleaded guilty March 5 to disorderly conduct in return for dropping the battery charge. The disorderly charge can be dismissed in a year if Smalley meets conditions of the agreement.
In April, the district reinstated Smalley as principal, reimbursed the salary and benefits he would have received and put him back on paid administrative leave.
Then Thursday, the West Salem School Board released a statement that it had rescinded its original decision to fire Smalley after learning “it had received erroneous legal advice regarding its decision.”
An investigator later determined there was insufficient evidence to terminate or otherwise discipline Smalley, according to the board statement.
Gensch said at least 15 parents have committed to form the picket line about 7:15 a.m. on the sidewalk in front of the elementary school. Participants are asked to bring a sign, with no profanity. Parents can picket all day or return about 2:30 p.m., she said.
Gensch said she spoke with the West Salem police chief about how to picket legally and plans to keep the event “peaceful and polite.”
There will be no shouting, and everyone will keep moving, she said.
“We don’t want to be mean. He has a family. He has children,” she said. “We want to do this as respectfully as we can.”
Participants will hand out fliers and answer questions.
“We just want to let (Smalley) know how we feel about this,” she said.
