Vote On Superintendent's Fate Delayed After Court Ruling

INDIANAPOLIS -- Because a judge ruled Tuesday that a Perry Township school board member was too biased to vote on whether to fire the district's superintendent, the panel will postpone its decision, which had been planned for this week.

The vote on whether to fire Superintendent Doug Williams will be delayed by at least one week while the board weighs the ruling, a board member told 6News.

A U.S. District Court judge obliged Williams' request to prevent board Vice President Nancy Walsh from voting on whether to fire him, ruling that she has shown a bias against Williams.

But the judge denied Williams' request to stop panel President Susan Adams from voting, saying she didn't demonstrate a bias that would make her participation unconstitutional.

In the ruling, the judge said Walsh's statements and actions "reflected an inappropriate probability of actual bias on the part of Walsh."

Walsh was in the majority when the board voted 4-3 to suspend Williams in November and start proceedings to fire him in May. Her removal from the next vote would set up a 3-3 split if the other members don't stray from their previous patterns.

Williams' contract would not be terminated in the event of a 3-3 tie, 6News' Renee Jameson reported.

In a letter authorized by the majority and sent to Williams in May, the board accuses him of insubordination and neglect of duty.

The court noted Tuesday that a number of the letter's accusations against Williams "contained Walsh's name as the recipient of Williams' allegedly improper conduct."

The ruling also said that Walsh, during a hearing, testified that she "concluded that she could not work through her differences with Williams, in part, because of how lethal he could be to his enemies."

"The court found that comment to evidence a pretty strong attitude against Williams," the ruling said.

The court also cited testimony from Williams' witnesses, one of whom said that Walsh intended to get rid of Williams.

Walsh declined to speak to 6News about Tuesday's ruling, citing advice from her attorney.

Williams also had asked the court to prevent Adams from voting, saying Adams had said she couldn't vote to return him to a leadership role in the township.

However, the court ruled that Adams' comments were "made in the context of her opposition to any proposal that would allow Williams to function as superintendent during pendency of the independent investigation."