There were fireworks in Shaker Heights Thursday night, during a special meeting at the high school.
It began with the community wanting to know why their principal was on paid leave, how a football coach was hired without a background check, and what an AP teacher did to land in hot water.
You could say it ended in mutiny.
At first, only a spokesman, the interim principal, and the superintendent were supposed to speak by responding to written questions.
But the crowd would not have it, as students and parents eventually took to the stage and grabbed a mic.
“A leader would share the microphone and then allow the actual constituents to talk,” argued a parent.
Since officials were limited on what they could say, it seemed nothing could be learned. With families also complaining about a history of racial bias, it appeared little would change.
“People needed to vent their thoughts and I think people did that,” said senior Will Schinabeck.
Parent Clyde Christian had a message for administrators.
“You have avoided leadership,” he said. “If there was strong leadership in place, these issues would be addressed. Because everything is kind of bubbling up at one time.”
“We need to work with our teachers and we need to address all the issues,” said parent Herlina Bradley-McDowell. “We need answers.”
She said she did not believe the meeting would make a difference.
It ended promptly at 7:30 p.m. which was another source of frustration. The first 15 minutes of the hour-long meeting were tied up in administrative speeches, allowing only 45 minutes to interact.