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SUNBURY — The old Shikellamy high school principal is still fired…and the interim principal is hired. One member of the board Thursday made a motion to rehired Ernie Jackson temporarily so he can job hunt while employed, and the rehire would send a more positive message to the community. Vote on the motion was 2 to 6 with most of the board refusing to rehire Jackson.
The board then passed a motion to hire Michael Egan as interim principal until the end of the school year. School board president Wendy Wiest, says Egan has been filling in and it has been positive for the high school, “I think the community, the students, the parents all have a tremendous amount of respect for Mr. Egan and all the feedback has been positive and we really appreciate his willingness to serve in this temporary capacity.”
The former principal, Ernie Jackson was fired last month after a 5-hour public hearing, with the board saying he committed several policy and procedural violations. Jackson’s attorneys, Kymberly Best and Tim Bowers, say they will appeal to the court of common pleas in Northumberland County. They also plan to file a civil suit in federal court.