43°
With her lawyers present, Valentine went before nine school board officials that needed to decide her penalty, said the Stamford Advocate.
Valentine had not gone before the board since being arrested then suspended in October 2014, according to the Stamford Advocate.
Attorney Ryan O'Neill reportedly expressed disappointment, telling the Advocate, "We will be looking at our next steps."
One board member, Michael Altamura, abstained from voting in deciding, an outcome that relied on a report by an independent hearing officer saying she should be fired, said the Advocate.
The firing stemmed from a case involving a sexual relationship between a teacher and a student that rocked Stamford High and resulted in multiple arrests.
Former Stamford High Principal Donna Valentine and Vice Principal Roth Nordin were arrested in October 2014 and charged with failing to report to the state Department of Children and Families allegations that former teacher Danielle Watkins was having a sexual relationship with a student.
Each was granted accelerated rehabilitation on Nov. 19, 2014.
Then Superintendent Winifred Hamilton announced she was seeking to fire Valentine and Nordin in May 2015.
They were suspended from their jobs. Watkins, a Norwalk resident, was sentenced in March 2015 to five years in prison as part of a plea deal for having sex with a male student and supplying him with marijuana throughout the 2013-14 school year.
Raymond D. Manka has already taken over as the new principal at Stamford High, replacing Valentine. James A. Connelly is the current interim superintendent. He took over when Hamilton retired in December.
Click here to read the Stamford Advocate story.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
