GILROY
– Less than three weeks after a high school drama performance
that included sexual references and indecent language, the teacher
who supervised the skits was told he will not be back next
year.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Less than three weeks after a high school drama performance that included sexual references and indecent language, the teacher who supervised the skits was told he will not be back next year.
Kurt Meeker, in his fourth year at Gilroy High School, confirmed Thursday that school administrators on Tuesday said he would not be re-hired. He said it “would not be prudent” to discuss the pending details of his departure.
Superintendent Edwin Diaz would not discuss Meeker’s employment status specifically, citing personnel reasons, but said the district is in the process of identifying which employees will be let go at the end of the year.
“(It) is a process based on performance,” said Linda Piceno, assistant superintendent of human resources. “It does not mean that a person is incompetent; it means that they don’t meet the standard for Gilroy Unified. If they do not meet the standard, it is our practice that they are not re-hired.”
The process differs from lay-offs because it is not based on money-saving.
Although Meeker has been with GHS for nearly four years, he was not hired as a permanent Gilroy Unified School District employee, Diaz said, and therefore can be let go as part of the “non-re-election” process, as it is called.
Meeker, who has a partial teaching credential, has probationary employment status, which means the district must give him a dismissal notice by March 15. He will have the option of submitting a letter of resignation rather than being let go, Piceno said.
GHS Principal Bob Bravo, Diaz and some school board trustees have said the material and language included in skits performed by GHS drama students on Feb. 6 was inappropriate. Some students and parents have also criticized the racy content while others have defended it as typical of high school students.
From his tiny office in the GHS theater, Meeker candidly defended the drama students’ showcase and praised their performances.
“I stand by the choices that the students made for material in the showcases,” he said. “It was PG-13 and much milder, in my opinion. Nothing that was presented would be offensive in prime-time television, nothing that was presented were subjects that aren’t discussed on a regular basis in many classrooms in this campus.”
Although letters critical of the skits’ content have been published in The Dispatch, Meeker said he has never been personally contacted with concerns. He regularly puts on two showcases a year and said this is the first time questions were raised.
“Prior to this, there’s been no criticism or any kind of public outcry – or even to me privately – that the content of the showcases was an issue for anyone at all,” Meeker said.
Students selected the material used in the skits performed for their peers from books “that are used in high schools all over the country,” he said. Also, some scenes came from files left by previous GHS drama teachers.
Meeker said there were two instances during the showcase when students used “inappropriate” language.
“And the students have been very carefully warned about the use of inappropriate language, they know what words are all right to use and what words aren’t,” he said, adding that he does try to stick to a PG-13 standard.
“There were some mistakes, and sometimes unconscious mistakes, that were made on the part of the performers,” he said.
Echoing comments from some drama students, Meeker said the proper, “outstanding” student performances should be recognized, as well.
“For me, what I consider important, is that the students gave convincing, emotional performances that were full of conviction, full of commitment,” he said. “They were confident, they were strong in front of a large group of their peers, and in that sense I feel that my goals have been met: that these students have learned, that they’re walking out of my class as more rounded human beings able to comport themselves with confidence and with conviction in front of a large group of people.”
The only difference between this year’s showcases and previous ones, Meeker said, was that teachers and students showed up uninvited, filling the theater and causing the audience to become unruly.
Marisa Ceragioli, a senior at GHS who is in Meeker’s speech and debate class, said she signed a petition supporting Meeker. The petition is being circulated by students.
“To me, Mr. Meeker has always been an amazing teacher,” she said. “He sits there, and he actually cares.”
She said that, while some of the content and language used in the skits may have been inappropriate inside a classroom, she was not offended while watching the performances.
“To me, it’s nothing different from what I see every day – it’s something that high school is,” she said. “High school people cuss. It’s not good, but it happens. I don’t think it was wrong, I think that’s who they are that’s how they express themselves.”
The names of the GUSD teachers who will not be re-hired next year will go before the board of trustees in closed session within the next 30 days.
Piceno said she could not reveal how many GUSD teachers will be let go.
Meeker said that, given the choice, he would prefer to stay at GHS.
“I love working with the students here. There’s a very enthusiastic student body … a lot of talent … bright students,” he said. “And I’ve formed a good working relationship with them, and there’s a fair amount of trust. And I also am very comfortable with the staff and faculty here, and so the prospect of working somewhere else is not one that I look forward to.”
