Drama swirls around New Rochelle school district

Drama continues to swirl around the New Rochelle school district.
Hundreds turned out for a public meeting Tuesday night at town hall to tackle two big issues at the district’s school board meeting.
The first issue was resolved when board members accepted the second resignation of New Rochelle High School Principal Reginald Richardson.
Richardson submitted a letter of resignation last week after accepting a position at the New York Board of Education. But that offer was rescinded, and Richardson tried to withdraw his resignation from New Rochelle. But the school board decided Tuesday that it was best for Richardson to leave. Richardson was praised for his contributions to the high school, including creating new programs and promoting diversity. But he fell under scrutiny after an outbreak of violence this year that included a stabbing inside the high school and the fatal off-campus stabbing of 16-year-old Valaree Schwab.
Richardson's last day will be later this month.
Also discussed at Tuesday's meeting was the controversial practice of requiring parents to re-register children entering the ninth grade.  The re-registration program was put on hold after New York education officials warned the program may be in violation of state regulation so the board said they would be changing the process of the program. Parents now have until the end of September to prove they live in the school district, under what's now being called a "residency verification program."
Many parents said part of the district’s problems is that there were too many students attending the schools who did not live in the community. "We have limited resources in this district and those resources should be allocated for the kids that are living in this town," says Darin Feldman, parent.