LOCAL hearings into the long–running dispute over the suspension of Merl Grove High School (MGHS) Principal Dr Marjorie Fullerton by the school board ended Monday, with attention now turned to the school’s Personnel Committee.

The committee has 14 days in which to submit a report in which it will state whether it has found that charges against the principal were proved or not, and make recommendations to the board for its decision.

The recommendations could include termination, suspension, demotion or admonition, in keeping with the Education Regulations which are part of the Education Code (1980) governing school operations.

If Fullerton is still dissatisfied after the board’s decision, she can appeal to the Teachers’ Tribunal and, if necessary, seek a judicial review of the matter at the Supreme Court.

Confirmation that the hearings had ended came Wednesday from attorney Neco Pagon for the Jamaica Teachers’ Association which represents Dr Fullerton, and attorney Dr Garth McBean, QC, representing the Merl Grove Board and Personnel Committee.

Both lawyers, speaking to the Jamaica Observer, expressed satisfaction that they had done their best in representing their clients, and it was not up to the Personnel Committee.

Pagon, who is from the offices of attorney Peter Champagnie, took over representation of Fullerton after attorney Dr Delroy Beckford ended his stint, following the Supreme Court’s December 2021 decision not to allow an interim injunction they had sought to get a stay of the proceedings by the Merl Grove Personnel Committee, which has been underway since the principal was suspended on September 10, 2021.

The school board, led by chairman David Hall, has been accused by past students of taking sides against Fullerton in a months-long dispute with lower school Vice-Principal Loretta Ricketts, leading to the principal’s suspension.

On the eve of the opening of school for the new academic year, Fullerton, returning from her summer break, overturned plans implemented by Ricketts who was acting in her absence, on grounds that she had already put plans for the reopening in place and had not been consulted on the new arrangements with which she would be stuck with for a full year.

Hall’s board, at an emergency meeting, then suspended Fullerton, saying her actions had “negatively impacted the school and caused unrest among the staff”.

The MGHS Past Students’ Associations Joint Committee of Jamaica, Canada, and the United States is vehemently opposed to the suspension of Fullerton and has been urging Hall to reinstate her on grounds that she has been one of the best things to happen to Merl Grove.

In a comment Tuesday, head of the joint committee Canada-based Simone Thomas said: “Undeniably, and as the records will show, our alma mater has benefited tremendously under the tutelage, guidance, and direction of Dr Marjorie Fullerton. As such, our PSA Canadian Chapter remains resolute in support of Dr Fullerton.

“We maintain the belief that Dr Fullerton is innocent of all the allegations and charges laid against her and further believe that she has being victimised and unfairly treated. This issue has seriously eroded the established relationship between the school and our PSA community.”