Lexington Dunbar High Schools’ principal’s leave, investigation extended another 20 days

Valarie Honeycutt Spears
·2 min read

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Principal Marlon Ball’s administrative leave was extended by 20 days on Thursday, his attorney Dale Golden told the Herald-Leader.

Golden said he received no additional details.

On November 2, Ball was placed on administrative leave while Fayette County Schools investigated an allegation of inappropriate conduct, according to a letter from Fayette Superintendent Demetrus Liggins to Ball. The letter did not provide details about the alleged inappropriate conduct. The Herald-Leader obtained the letter through an Open Records Request.

Liggins did not immediately comment Thursday on the extended leave.

Without elaboration, Ball’s leave was initially announced in a district statement mourning the death of the school’s athletic director Jason Howell.

The cause of Howell’s death is being investigated as a suicide, Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said.

Dunbar teacher Sharessa Bentley-Crovo, who is also a member of Dunbar’s school council, previously said, “We’ve all struggled under Mr. Ball’s leadership, and after losing a beloved colleague, we can’t stay quiet.“

Two parents on the school council, Melissa Rife and Brian Nurick, also previously released a message saying, “As Parent Representatives of the PLD SBDM Council, we look forward to the District completing their investigation. We also look forward to sharing additional information regarding certain public comments made, when appropriate.”

The president of the Lexington-Fayette branch of the NAACP in a recent statement said the group is concerned about potential “mishandling” of the suspension. In the statement, President Whit Whitaker said “there appears to be procedural mishandling, action, and treatment of the (Paul Laurence Dunbar High School) principal who was recently placed on administrative leave.”

Golden on Thursday told the Herald-Leader that he looked forward to the investigation coming to a conclusion as soon as possible.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • VAR rules out Wolves equaliser in defeat by Bournemouth

    Wolves were once again fuming at VAR after being denied a point in controversial circumstances against Bournemouth at Molineux.

  • 76ers, Magic, Lakers head home for Game 3 trailing 2-0 in NBA playoff series

    Joel Embiid and the 76ers had just dropped two straight playoff games in New York that left them feeling like — well, like their playoff series against the Knicks was far from over. It's one the Sixers — and Orlando and the Lakers — have to believe is possible with all three teams facing 2-0 deficits heading into a trio of Game 3s on Thursday in the NBA playoffs.

  • Jackpot winner ‘thought it was a scam.’ But it was real, and he still can’t believe it

    “Winning is very exciting, although I don’t think the reality of it hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” the Michigan lottery player said.

  • Once trashed, now saved: Students preserve rocky pineland next to their school

    PHOTO: Robert Morgan Educational Center students enjoy caring for the pineland preserve next to their school. But first it took years of organization.

  • UPDATE 1-Profits from Ternium edge up, slimmer margins seen in next quarter

    Steelmaker Ternium on Wednesday posted a first-quarter net profit that edged up 2%, propelled by larger shipments of steel even as it predicted that margins could shrink in the coming months. Ternium, which produces flat steel products for industrial use, posted a net profit of $491 million while its net sales rose by about a third to reach $4.8 billion during the quarter. The company's steel shipments during the January-to-March period, meanwhile, jumped 27% year-on-year to hit 3.9 million metric tons.

  • Keller school district to consider land grab to kill motel project near elementary school

    The district’s board will vote Thursday on whether to use eminent domain.

  • Mo Diarra to enter NBA Draft after one season with NC State, which ‘was incredible for me’

    Diarra recorded 311 rebounds for the Wolfpack this season. He pulled down 112 in the postseason.

  • Hey, kids! It's time to start planning those lemonade stands!

    Community Futures Peace Country is looking for young entrepreneurs to take place in its annual Lemonade Day event this year. General manager Sherry Crawford explains the children are taught all the integral steps to being a business owner in the community and basic entrepreneurial information they could potentially use as adults. “It teaches them all of the aspects of starting a business from beginning to end – all in a kid-friendly approach,” says Crawford. “It shows them that being a small bus

  • UPDATE 1-Soccer-Fernandes digs Man Utd out of hole in win over Sheff Utd

    Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes came to his side's rescue with two goals in a 4-2 home victory over the Premier League's bottom club Sheffield United on Wednesday just when more trouble loomed for beleaguered manager Erik ten Hag. Twice United trailed against a side destined for a quick return to the Championship with Jayden Bogle and Ben Brereton Diaz both on target for the visitors but Fernandes helped avert another damaging result. He levelled from the penalty spot in the 61st minute after a foul on Harry Maguire, scorer of United's first equaliser.

  • Teenage girl arrested after teachers and pupil stabbed at Welsh school

    Emergency services were called to the school in Ammanford at 11.20am on Wednesday.

  • Sobeys confirms it will not re-open a grocery store in Colborne

    Mandy Martin paid for her furnace with the money she made working behind the deli counter at the former Foodland in the village of Colborne. The mayor of Cramahe Township in Northumberland County is familiar with the history and the importance of the former Toronto Street grocery store — Colborne's only full supermarket —that was destroyed by fire in May 2023. The township announced Tuesday (April 23) it had received a letter from Sobeys, the parent company of the Colborne Foodland, stating it w

  • Expect 'growing pains' in the EV sector: Analyst

    EV adoption hasn't been as high as many automakers had hoped, but they are still pushing towards a future with EVs and self-driving vehicles. How can the auto sector ignite demand and what is ahead for the space in the near and long term? The Futurum Group Research Director Olivier Blanchard joins Market Domination to discuss the shift in focus for automakers to make EVs and hybrids. Blanchard lays out one of the current issues with the EV market, causing slower adoption among consumers: "Currently the EV market and the automotive market for software-defined vehicles and EVs, simultaneously, is a little skewed on the side of more expensive models, and consumers are just kind of worried about that kind of spending right now. Things are expensive. Obviously, there's inflation. There's a little bit of price gouging and people are a little bit closer to their budgets and so what we're seeing is a reluctance to buy EVs for two reasons. One, most are still a little above the price point that the average consumer for a mainstream adoption of EVs is comfortable with and the other one is fear about charging and infrastructure, about the serviceability of the vehicles, and also about the long-term resale of these vehicles once the batteries and the technologies on board have a few years on them." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Stephan Sterns charged with first-degree murder in death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto

    Stephan Sterns charged with first-degree murder in death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto

  • Caterpillar Earnings Due; Will Dow Jones Heavyweight Crush It Again?

    Caterpillar earnings are due early Thursday, The economic bellwether and Dow Jones earthmoving giant has been killing it lately.

  • Los Angeles marches mark Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

    The red, blue and orange of Armenia's flag flew on the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday as marchers remembered the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. Another march was scheduled to culminate with a protest outside the consulate of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, which oversaw the mass deportations and massacres of Armenians. The large Armenian community in the Los Angeles area has been marking Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day since long before President Joe Biden in 2021 became the first U.S. president to use the word “genocide” to describe the campaign of violence.

  • Man Utd vs Sheffield United LIVE! Premier League result, match stream and latest updates today

    Red Devils move ahead of Newcastle in race for top six

  • ‘You’re baby killers’: The pro-Palestine university protest spilling out into the streets of New York

    “You’re f------ baby killers, that’s what you are”, a protester wearing a red-and-white keffiyeh bellows at a Jewish Columbia alumnus outside the Ivy League university’s gates.

  • Nearly 300 Volusia County teachers will be reassigned next school year

    Nearly 300 Volusia County teachers will be reassigned next school year

  • Martin County teachers set to get pay raise

    Teachers in Martin County are on track to get a bump in their pay that will highlight their years of experience.

  • New expressway lanes in Clearwater could alleviate traffic congestion

    A seven-year-long road project has finally been completed in Pinellas County, offering hope to some drivers in the Tampa Bay Area. The Gateway Expressway toll lanes will be open to drivers later this week. The $600 million project connects US-19 and I-275, and the Bayside Bridge to I-275 with two new tolled roadways. It's all to alleviate traffic congestion.