Dr. David Madden, a principal at Oxford Area High School, resigned Thursday night after public outcry over his reinstatement this past summer. His last day will be June 30.
Dr. Madden is accused of making derogatory comments about the special needs students in his district. In one exchange, Madden allegedly referred to a student with bipolar disorder as a “psychopath.”
Madden allegedly sent the texts during a meeting with a special needs student and his mother. Lisa Lightner of the Arc of Chester County, tells the Philadelphia Inquirer she was sitting next to Madden, glanced at his phone and read an insulting text that included an obscenity and referred to the student as a “manipulator.”
The Inquirer reports Lightner reported the text message to her supervisor at the Arc, which provides services to disabled people. After requesting records about the student, they claim they uncovered other insulting comments Madden made towards him and other special needs students in general.
Madden was suspended in March. He was reinstated as principal however by a 6-3 school board vote on July 1. Many people in the community were outraged by the reinstatement.
At Thursday night's school board meeting, after Dr. Madden's resignation was announced, the public cheered. The school board accepted the resignation by a vote of 8-1.
