You might remember when the situation at Beaty was so bad that it was covered on the front page of this paper. One of the teachers appeared before the school board to report a chaotic environment — bordering on lawlessness.

The problem? Lack of a consistent principal. At that point, Beaty had had two, three or was it four principals that school year. Teachers and students needed support.

Halfway through the next school year, a good leader applied and was appointed.

You might never have thought of this, but leaders have two kinds of power. One is the power that comes from their position of authority. Thus, principals have the power of their position. They can demand and expect certain kinds of behavior. They can exercise consequences at their fingertips.

They can manage a law-abiding school. Learning can happen. Rarely, are lives changed. Students may well learn, but their lives are not altered in life affirming ways.

Some principals invest the time and commitment it takes to build relational power. These principals are rarely in their offices. They greet students when they come to school. They give teachers and subs access to their private cell phone numbers to use when needed. They go to basketball games, dances, trap and track meets.

You see them everywhere where their students are. They say yes when asked to help at community functions where their students might be. They work collaboratively with teachers. Mr. Kelly Martin, retired Eisenhower principal, had this kind of power. He invested his heart, soul and time into the students at Eisenhower. And he was highly regarded, as he should have been.

The quintessential example of relational power in action is Jesus. He had no position of authority. He invested in relationships. He changed lives. He still changes lives.

Midway through 2023-2024 school year, Lyle Dosser became the principal at Beaty. He has a low-key mild way. Some thought he would be an easy pushover for students. But as my niece observed on his first day of the job, he meant business. When someone threw something in the cafeteria, there was no warning about the consequences of such behavior. They were only the consequences. With firm expectations, he began to build relationships with all the students.

In a short school year and a half, he invested heavily in building relationships with students. He was everywhere: greeting students when they arrived, walking the halls, covering classes when subs were not available. He went to basketball games, trap meets, football games. He joined Free Books at the May Interactive Festivals staffing a booth. At the Christmas walk he joined us giving free books to students. Students were thrilled to see their principal.

Because of his steady hand, teachers could exercise their positional power as well as building strong relationships with their students.

And now the school district is moving him to Sheffield. The “reason” is he has experience with elementary students. That is true. If they keep him at Beaty, which would greatly benefit students and faculty, the person who could take the Sheffield position may not have that experience. Yet, there is much elementary experience in our district. At least two administrative staff, Mrs. Kent and Mr. Mineweaser were elementary principals. Along with the current elementary principals, they could easily help this new person. It would expand the staff depth in our district.

Putting personnel decisions ahead of students’ interests is not new. Our school district continually does this. My 26-year-old son could not remember how many principals he had at Beaty.

Now is the time to put students first. We, the people who fund our public schools, need to stand up and expect better things from our district for the sake of our children and county.

Ruby Wiles is founder and director of Free Books for Kids Town in Warren.