Published: May. 02, 2024

By Rebecca Griesbach

Despite protests from a packed crowd, Vestavia Hills City Schools officials voted unanimously May 2 to transfer principal Lauren Dressback to a local alternative school.

Dressback is still listed as principal on Cahaba Heights Elementary’s website. But according to parents and a series of social media posts that emerged this weekend, she hasn’t set foot in the school since February.

District officials have yet to disclose a reason for Dressback’s absence. Instead, they called a special meeting Thursday to reassign her to the district’s alternative school. Kim Polson, the school’s assistant principal, will take her place.

“I know this is a topic of interest to many of you, and to many of those in our community,” Superintendent Todd Freeman told the crowd before the vote. “I want to clearly state that we cannot, have not, and will not, make personnel decisions based on an individual’s race, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or disability.

“I can assure you that all of our decisions are vetted thoroughly and thoughtfully to be in compliance with applicable laws and board policies, and with the best interest of our students, faculty and community in mind. We are fortunate to have employees throughout our system who contribute greatly to our academic success and are committed to our mission to provide every child in our schools to learn without limits, and that will continue to be the case.”

At a board meeting Monday, residents and school alumni claimed Dressback was placed on administrative leave shortly after she discussed her sexual orientation with school staff.

“This is not a promotion, this is not glorifying her, you are sending her a message that in Vestavia Hills it is not OK to be LGBTQ,” Rev. Julie Conrady of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham, told board members Thursday evening.

Dressback became the school’s principal in 2022. Her contract was renewed in 2023. She has more than 20 years of experience in education.

Many other community members packed the board room Thursday, with some holding signs and many wearing green in support of Dressback. Several questioned the board about why they would not share any reasoning for the decision – and why they wouldn’t hear out concerns before making a vote.

Jim Whisenhunt, a local parent, asked if it was illegal for the board to comment publicly on “Mrs. Dressback’s demotion.”

Board attorney Patrick Boone said it was common procedure for the board not to make public comments about specific employees, and that doing so would be unfair to those individuals.

At one point, after more questioning from parents, officials made note of the police officers in the room.

“Is there a reason why you felt like our children were in danger, somehow? Because if so, we have a right to know,” one attendee said from the crowd.

After the vote, more than a dozen speakers lined up to speak in support of Dressback.

Lifelong educators spoke to Dressback’s legacy as a teacher and school leader, and pressed the board to give more details. One said homophobia had pushed her out of a nearby school district, too.

Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, also made an appearance. The state’s only openly gay legislator said he drove straight from Montgomery to attend the meeting.

“You’re not just signaling to your other teachers, your other principals, your other staff here,” he said. “You’re signaling to your students who might be LGBTQ-identified that they don’t matter.”

“This isn’t just a Vestavia Hills issue anymore,” he said.

A parent of twins at the school said Dressback helped calm nerves after a rough period of raising young children through the pandemic. Dressback attended IEP meetings and knew the names of every student.

Sandra Gonzales, a parent of a kindergartner, said Dressback advocated for her daughter from the first day of class.

“She is a bright light and is clearly missed,” she said, tearing up. “It is a huge loss for Cahaba Heights.”

An attorney for Dressback declined to comment on the vote.

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