Below is the letter sent out by Carpenter:
October 9, 2012
To the Citizens of Newton County:
First and foremost, I have been a proud educator for over 16 years. I have had the privilege and honor of serving children in three communities. It has always been my goal to unselfishly give of myself to the communities that I have called home, and to the students and parents that I serve via teaching and administration. It has never been my goal to bring about negativity or discord to my community. Since I accepted the position of Principal at Alcovy High School (AHS) in July 2009, it has been my daily agenda to be an asset to the AHS community by working alongside students, teachers, staff members, parents and community leaders. My unwavering commitment has always been to assist teachers and students in realizing their greatest personal and professional potential.
Recently, it has been surmised that the lawsuit (to which I am a party), the online commenting, and Board of Education mistrust are issues that are preventing us as a community from moving forward and reaching our greatest potential. While I have no influence over Board actions or the online commenting, I do have a position relative to the pending lawsuit, Carpenter v. Meadors, and its impact on our community's continued progress. This lawsuit was filed to defend against the barrage of falsehoods and malicious attacks on my integrity, professionalism and teaching credentials. This lawsuit was filed to defend my students, teachers and administrators who have persevered through the positive transformation that AHS has begun to undergo during my tenure. This lawsuit was never meant to promote the divisive, hateful or win-at-any-cost behavior that has ensued since its inception.
After careful prayer, thought, and deliberation, I have made the decision to dismiss the pending lawsuit that has weighed heavily over both my personal and professional life. This decision was not an easy one. To me, this lawsuit has always been about accountability, transparency and truthfulness. To that end, I would like the community at large to know that I would welcome any level of investigation into any of my actions during the course of employment with the Newton County School System. I would welcome such investigations from any entity, regardless of whether such investigation is related to my conduct from a policy, legal, moral or ethical standpoint.
I would like to thank those who have supported and prayed for AHS and my family during this time. I would greatly appreciate your continued prayers that this measure will be the initial step for everyone involved to begin working together for increased student achievement and community prosperity. I cannot dictate the virtues of others, but I will continue to live my life as one that I can be proud of as wife, mother, daughter, sister, educator, friend and citizen of Newton County.
Sincerely,
LaQuanda Carpenter, Ed.D.
Alcovy High School Principal LaQuanda Carpenter has decided to dismiss the defamation lawsuit against school board member Jeff Meadors.
Carpenter sent out a letter late Tuesday afternoon that said she was dismissing the lawsuit because it and related issues are "preventing us as a community from moving forward and reaching our greatest potential."
The principal stated in the letter that her original intent with the lawsuit against Meadors was to defend against attacks on her "integrity, professionalism and teaching credentials," and said the lawsuit was never intended to "promote the divisive, hateful or win-at-any-cost-behavior that has ensued since its inception."
Carpenter also said in the letter that the decision to dismiss the lawsuit came after heavy thought and the lawsuit has weighed heavily over her personal and professional life. She stated the lawsuit for her was about "accountability, transparency and truthfulness" and welcomes any level of investigation into allegations against her during her time with the Newton County School System.
She ended the letter with: "I cannot dictate the virtues of others, but I will continue to live my life as one that I can be proud of as wife, mother, daughter, sister, educator, friend and citizen of Newton County."
In April, Carpenter filed a lawsuit against 11 anonymous bloggers, identified only as John Does. The lawsuit said the defendants had libeld and defamed Carpenter in anonymous online postings presented as story commentaries on the Newton Citizen website.
She later amended the lawsuit to remove the anonymous bloggers and replace them with Meadors as the sole defendant in the litigation.
In the amended lawsuit, Carpenter claimed that Meadors either personally blogged in a manner detrimental to the plaintiff, or provided information used by others to do so. In his response to the litigation, Meadors denied having done either.
