In a followup to a post of earlier this week, Windsor Locks and its Superintendent of Schools reached an agreement late yesterday in which the Superintendent agreed to resign in exchange for a six month severance payment (to be shorted if he finds work before the expiration of that severance period.)
The agreement comes after revelations in the press that the Superintendent make several updates to his Facebook page in the first few days of starting work about work.
According to published reports in the Hartford Courant, the Facebook postings played in integral role in the agreement.
"The board felt as though the recent disclosure on a Facebook posting regarding a school district personnel matter damaged Mr. Telesca’s credibility at a critical juncture in his superintendency," board Chairwoman Patricia King said in a prepared statement.
The superintendent’s attorney commented last night on the compromise and that he felt the board was overreacting, according to reports.
"He really doesn’t want this to be the defining moment in his career as an educator," [the attorney] said after the meeting. "It made sense for him to get this resolved in a way that will allow him to move on."
[Hartford attorney Gregg Adler] said that the board overreacted to the Facebook messages, and that there were never any grounds to move toward firing Telesca. He also said that Telesca was never given an adequate chance to explain his side of the story.
What lessons can be drawn from this? The issues regarding social media are not just related to twenty-somethings in your workforce. They are pervasive and growing. This Superintendent isn’t the first person befelled by something he posted online. And he won’t be the last. The issue for employers to think about is — what happens when these issues come to YOUR workplace. Are you prepared?