Owen J. Roberts school board fires Myra Forrest

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2009 | by Kathy Boccella Inquirer Staff Writer

The Owen J. Roberts school board on Monday unexpectedly fired its superintendent, Myra Forrest, who sat silently at the meeting while stunned residents spoke glowingly of her.

After giving out several student awards, Board President Edward Kerner made a motion to terminate Forrest without cause. Forrest was hired four years ago and had one year left on her contract.

The motion set off a stream of board members, administrators, and parents praising Forrest's accomplishments, noting that she had raised test scores as well as the morale of staff in the nearly 5,000-student district in northern Chester County.

"This was so well orchestrated," Barbara McMeekin, one of four who voted against the firing, said yesterday. She said no one had told her a reason for the...