Laurel school board member promotes parent to assume superintendent duties

Why Should Delaware Care?
Local school boards are the governing authority for school districts. Their responsibilities include deciding whether to hold a referendum and hiring or firing superintendents. Last month, a Laurel staff member, whose son is a member of the Laurel Board of Education, was named as one of two employees to take over superintendent responsibilities. 

Last month, Laurel school board members narrowly voted to approve an undisclosed set of recommendations that they had discussed during a private meeting.  

The next day, the Laurel School District announced that its superintendent would be replaced by two school district individuals — Susan Whaley and Ashley Giska . 

Whaley’s son, Zach Whaley, is the Laurel Board of Education member who had motioned the board to vote in favor of the undisclosed recommendations.  

In the days since, one other member of the five-person school board has spoken out, telling Spotlight Delaware he voted against the motion because he knew his colleague’s mother would be one of the two people to assume superintendent responsibilities. 

“To me, anything that [Zach Whaley] votes on in the district is going to be a conflict of interest,” the board member Brent Nichols said.

In response to questions of a conflict, Board President Jana Pugh said in a statement that “there is no conflict of interest” because the Oct. 21 vote only approved then-Superintendent Shawn Larrimore’s leave. 

“The practice of Mr. Giska and Mrs. Whaley assuming the duties and responsibilities of the superintendent is something that has occurred before, years before Zach Whaley was elected to the board,” Pugh said in the statement.

Zach Whaley declined to comment for this story. 

The vote occurred during a public meeting that did not state on its agenda that the school board members were considering parting ways with the superintendent — meaning the public would have had little notice that such a decision was being made.

Instead, a relevant line on the agenda stated only that there would be “Possible Action on Executive Session Items.” It then listed, “personnel.”

An executive session is a private meeting that a public body is allowed to hold for certain legally allowed purposes. 

Prior to the vote during the public meeting, Pugh read aloud, “Attachment E: administrative … to approve the personnel report with recommendations as discussed in executive session.” 

Zach Whaley then made a motion for the board to approve the recommended personnel report. The board approved the motion in a 3 to 2 vote, with Whaley voting in favor. 

None of the board members who voted in favor of the recommendation announced that Zach Whaley’s mother, Susan Whaley, and Ahsley Giska would be taking over superintendent duties, despite it being a “practice” that Pugh said occurred before Zach Whaley was elected in May.

Nichols and Sabrina Isler were the only two board members to vote against the measure.

In its subsequent social media post on Oct. 22, the board said Larrimore would be “concluding his duties” as superintendent on Oct. 30 “following discussions with the Laurel School District Board of Education.”

The social media post did not provide reasoning for Larrimore’s departure from the Laurel School District after 13 years of service.

However, his service was interrupted in 2024 when the school board announced that he would be “away from his duties as superintendent for an indefinite amount of time,” following a charge of driving under the influence, as first reported by The News Journal. 

Larrimore returned to his position in July of 2024. 

After he returned, the board released a statement expressing confidence in his ability to lead the district “with integrity and commitment to the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community.”

Larrimore did not respond to Spotlight Delaware’s request for comment for this story. 

A question of ethics

Two weeks after the vote, Delaware Public Integrity Commission Chairman Ron Chaney told Spotlight Delaware in a statement that the state’s Code of Conduct “generally” requires public officials to recuse themselves “from any matter in which they or a close relative, such as a parent, have a personal or financial interest.” 

Susan Whaley and Giska will not receive additional compensation for the extra responsibilities, Pugh said.

Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School who studies government ethics, said he recognizes that school boards in small towns, such as Laurel, may have limited numbers of people involved in various activities, and so “it may be hard to avoid family members.”

Still, Briffault said participation in any employment decision that impacts a close relative gives “the appearance of corruption.” 

“There’s the fact that the decision maker may benefit personally from this financially, or only through ties of affection, and because of these close ties, the public official may not necessarily be motivated by what’s in the best interest of the community,” he said. 

Although Giska and Susan Whaley have not received pay increases, Briffault said Zach Whaley should recuse himself from any potential future cases when the board considers the superintendent’s salary, benefits or contract renewals.