GEORGETOWN, DE - The principal of Sussex Central High School, Dr. Bradley Layfield, says he received notice over the weekend that he is being fired.
According to a statement from Layfield’s lawyer, Thomas Neuberger, Layfield received written notice of his termination on Saturday, November 18th. The firing announcement follows a months-long controversy over an incident at the school in May in which a student’s breast was exposed during an alleged fight. The recorded surveillance of that fight, according to Neuberger, was shared with some school faculty to review the incident and keep them informed.
The student in the video filed a lawsuit against Sussex Central High School, the Indian River School District, Bradley Layfield, and Matthew Jones, the assistant principal, in September, alleging her privacy had been violated. The suit also claims a meme was created with an image of her exposed by school staff.
In Neuberger’s statement announcing Layfield’s termination, he says Layfield has not been charged with creating or circulating the meme, only showing the surveillance footage to staff who he felt needed to see it.
Neuberger goes on to say the reasons for Layfield’s termination were false and defamatory, as well as politically motivated.
“As I stated in August, this vendetta against a highly regarded and widely respected school principal is politically driven for reasons I will eventually reveal, and they violate his constitutional right to freedom of family association because they are directed at his brother who stepped down as Board President under unjustified political attacks,” Neuberger alleges.
The firing also violates his contract right to progressive discipline and his right to due process, Neuberger claims.
Neuberger says Layfield will fight the termination at a public hearing where he will call on students, faculty, and staff witnesses. A date for that public hearing was not immediately made clear in Neuberger’s statement.
As WBOC previously reported, Layfield was suspended as Sussex Central High School principal in August.
In a statement to WBOC, the Indian River School District said Monday they could not comment as the board's decision involved personnel matters.
Emeka Igwe, Managing Partner of The Igwe Firm representing the former Sussex Central High School student who was reportedly the subject of the video in question, also released a statement Monday. In it, she says the former student and her family are pleased by the board's decision to terminate the individuals who, they say, were responsible for sharing the video.
