Board hears parents concerns about
Arnoldsburg principal before jam-packed room
By Bob Weaver
 Arnoldsburg Elementary's newly hired principal Dr. Gene Rizzo (pictured left) stood before parents and citizens at last night's school board meeting and bared his personal life, answering dozens of questions about his legal and personal problems in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The problems were part of a marathon meeting that lasted three and one-half hours.
The issues were raised last week by parents who accessed news articles on the Internet about Rizzo.
 Kyle Lancaster (pictured right), representing Arnoldsburg parents, addressed the board about their concerns. Brenda Holcomb challenged superintendent Blankenship with removing her grandchildren from the school.
The board went into executive session and met with Rizzo, and returned to the meeting room to complete the agenda.
Superintendent Ron Blankenship told the packed room he would have been unable to do what Dr. Rizzo did, "baring his soul" and detailing what he described as bad choices.
Blankenship said "Everything I have learned to this point about his professional career is stellar. He has done an exemplary job in every principals job he has had. He made some very poor choices in his personal life."
He answered questions regarding background checks.
Blankenship confirmed that Rizzo had a single misdemeanor charge against him, following an incident where Rizzo entered the house of his girlfriend of five years.
Rizzo admitted he did not disclose the misdemeanor during the application process.
After several parents addressed the board, some angrily, Blankenship responded saying "I understand your concerns. If I were a parent I would have the same concerns until I got the answers."
Rizzo described sensitive details about the incident which caused him to serve 30 days in jail, involving discovery of his girlfriend in a shower with her new interest, a Sgt. with the county sheriff's office. "I just reacted emotionally, never thinking about the legal ramifications," he said.
The fourth degree burglary charge did not mean he stole anything. "I never threatened anyone," he said. "I used bad judgment. The charges were not filed for several months."
"I still had the backing of staff members, teachers, community, PTA, because through the years they saw the positive changes I did in the school," he said.
Rizzo said his former girlfriend filed a civil suit, claiming harassment. "I lost my house, my mutual funds and my job."
He is back in West Virginia trying to make a fresh start, saying he tried last year in York, PA. He decided to resign that position after it became impossible for him to explain his prior situation to parents.
He said this move is important to him and he needs to work on his retirement program in WV.
"If I can't shake this issue and get on with educating your kids, I'll resign." He expects to stay and do a good job, he said.
"This man has 20 years of administrative experience, far exceeding any of the other applicants," said Blankenship.
Several parents complimented Rizzo for his forthright effort and most indicated they were willing to move ahead, giving him an opportunity to work with the school.
Parent Tracy Lancaster said she appreciated Dr. Rizzo's efforts and felt that most of her questions had been answered.
Concerns were expressed that parents who did not attend last nights meeting should meet with Dr. Rizzo. He agreed to have such a meeting.
PARENT KYLE LANCASTER ADDRESSES BOARD
Lancaster addressed the board during the comment part of the meeting, prior to Dr. Rizzo responding.
There have been several allegations and news
articles surrounding the alleged criminal
background of Arnoldsburg's new principal Gene
Rizzo.
Whether or not the allegations are true,
is the main reason many concerned parents are
here tonight. Because of the role to our
children, our principal should be above reproach.
The principal is a person whom our children look
up to, respect, and view as a role model while at
school.
Children whether from broken homes or
from homes full of love, need stabilization in
school.
Our concern is if hiring a person with a
criminal background is the type of stabilization
our children need.
Certainly a person's love life is their own
business, but when the personal business
progresses to assault charges and jail time for
burglary, then it becomes public record and
therefore public business.
I'm sure Mr. Rizzo
regrets what he has done, but it has happened on
more than one occasion. Our children are very
precious, and unfortunately this is a dangerous
world which seems to get worse every day.
We
would be delinquent in our duties as parents to
knowingly allow a person with a criminal record
to be in charge of them, and not voice our
concerns or ask questions.
There are too many
dangers in the world we cannot predict but to
have the knowledge of someone's actions and
deliberately choose to ignore the situation seems
to me to be a dangerous proposition.
We might
agree that this principal is a good educator and
perhaps needs another chance, but we must also
ask ourselves, "Are we willing to let our
children and our community be the laboratory for
this experiment?"
See earlier Herald stories regarding issue
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