VCS: Mainland Principal Led Fake Speech Class

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Volusia County Chairman Carl Persis speaking with Marc Bernier at WNDB
(News Daytona Beach)

Daytona Beach, FL - Following reports of a "placebo" AP test, new allegations come out claiming that the recently retired principal of Mainland High School led a fake class that passed students with A grades.

Back in July, Mainland High School Principal Cheryl Salerno, along with other officials at Mainland, was reprimanded following the distribution of "placebo" advanced placement tests at the institution.

Then, according to a hand-delivered letter from Superintendent Tim Egnor, a recommendation would be made to terminate Salerno's employment at the school board's planned August 28th meeting.

But, not long after the letter's delivery, Salerno announced plans to retire from her position at MHS. She retired before the start of the year and Tim Huth, who already served as principal at Mainland, ended up taking over the position.

Now, a new investigative report from Volusia County Schools shows that Salerno was the "teacher of record" for a speech class that was never actually taught at Mainland.

The course was known as "Speech I" and consisted of nine students, eight of whom were athletes, according to the school board's chairman, Carl Persis, who spoke live on WNDB's Marc Bernier Show about the investigation into Mainland High School and Salerno.

Those nine students were also seniors at the time and no longer attend Mainland High School.

"Her name was listed as the teacher of record for this speech class," said Persis."

The report shows that two semesters of the course were reported in student report cards, but the course was created during the second semester. Yet, students still received final grades during the first semester of the 2018-2019 school year.

Grades for a class that was never in session.

"Our investigators learned that class never met," said Persis. "And yet all of those students received an A grade at the end of the first semester."

Each grade was a quarterly grade of 95%.

The report also claims that Salerno improperly assigned two teachers to school counselor positions and "misused" personnel without proof of authorization from supervisors.

Those two teachers assigned by Salerno were also found to be uncertified and unqualified for the job.

This investigation was launched following the conclusion of the AP exam investigation, which was conducted before Egnor became superintendent. After the end of the first investigation, investigators came to Egnor in July and said they found "inconsistencies" with the master schedule.

"They thought he should know about it and needed direction on what to do," said Persis.

And that direction was to launch the new investigation into the class.

Marc Bernier can be heard live on WNDB, Monday through Friday, 3-6 p.m. on FM 93.5 and AM 1150. You can also find archived interviews and shows on his website, MarcBernierShow.com

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