Retired Principal: Sandwich Incident Was Final Straw for Tim Ryan

A retired former Sutton Middle School principal says the sandwich incident that preceded Coweta County Commission candidate Tim Ryan’s resignation from Atlanta Public Schools was not an isolated lapse, but the culmination of documented concerns she had been reporting to district officials since his arrival at the school.

“It was the straw that broke Atlanta’s back. I had been documenting him since he arrived,” said the retired principal, whose name is being withheld at her request.

Ryan resigned from Atlanta Public Schools in March 2020 after the district investigated an incident in which four witnesses reported that he took a student’s sandwich, placed it inside his pants, removed it, and then ate it in front of students. Ryan denied placing the sandwich in his pants and told investigators it went under his shirt as part of a sleight-of-hand trick.

The retired principal spoke to The Citizen on Friday after a friend alerted her to Ryan’s candidacy and later sent her news articles, campaign videos, and social media posts. She subsequently provided a 29-page packet of records she retained from Ryan’s approximately seven months at Sutton Middle School.

The Citizen reviewed the records, which include parent complaints, student statements, disciplinary letters, administrative correspondence, evaluations and a Professional Development Plan.

The records document concerns that predated the sandwich incident, including allegations of inappropriate comments to students, complaints about classroom discussions involving race, a documented FERPA violation, and concerns raised by parents and administrators about Ryan’s judgment and professionalism.

“There is a history almost since he arrived of unprofessionalism, inappropriate comments to students that got to both racial issues and sexual issues, and as well as concerns about teacher effectiveness,” the retired principal said.

Among the records is a December 2019 disciplinary letter stating that Ryan improperly discussed one student’s work with another student’s parent, a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, commonly known as FERPA, a federal law protecting student educational records and privacy. Another document details concerns arising from a parent conference in which Ryan greeted a parent by hugging and kissing her on the cheek, conduct administrators deemed inappropriate in a school setting.

The records also show Ryan was placed on a Professional Development Plan, a formal disciplinary improvement plan designed to correct documented concerns about an employee’s conduct and performance.

The retired principal said Ryan’s transfer to Sutton Middle School followed concerns at another Atlanta Public Schools campus, Best Academy. She said she was asked to accept the transfer because Sutton had an opening in a subject area for which Ryan was certified.

She said administrators documented concern after concern, but principals have limited authority once matters are referred to district officials.

“Principals have very little say in what happens,” she said. “We only just refer, refer, refer.”

The retired principal said the sandwich incident was simply the final event in a series of concerns that had already been documented.

“He could have refused to resign, and they would have gone through with the termination process. But again, when you get to that point, I’ve not seen any teacher choose to be fired in lieu of resigning when they’re offered to resign,” she said.

Recognizing Familiar Patterns

The retired principal said she initially brushed aside the news when a friend contacted her about Ryan’s campaign.

That changed as she began reviewing coverage of Ryan’s later tenure in Coweta County Schools and watching some of his campaign videos.

Earlier this year, The Citizen reported that Ryan’s Coweta County Schools personnel file exceeded 150 pages and contained complaints from students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The newspaper later interviewed former students and parents who described incidents they said made students uncomfortable and raised concerns about professional boundaries.

Among the incidents documented in Ryan’s Coweta personnel file was an investigation into allegations that Ryan took a female student into a supply closet while she was upset and made comments that later became the subject of administrative review. The file also documented a sheriff’s office investigation after a student who attempted suicide listed “Mr. Ryan” among the reasons cited in her note.

The retired principal said many of the accounts reported by The Citizen sounded familiar.

“As I’ve been reading this stuff, his pattern is perfect. He does the same exact thing,” she said.

She said the similarities she recognized were not necessarily identical incidents, but recurring concerns involving judgment, professionalism, communication, and interactions with students.

“The involvement of children in his behaviors is particularly scary to me. It’s one thing if all of this lack of professionalism was adult on adult, but there are circumstances involving children,” she said.

The retired principal said one reason she ultimately decided to speak publicly was because Ryan is now seeking elected office.

“I agree, it is. That is what eventually got me to speak up,” she said. “I pondered it for a couple days after my friend reached out. I said, I want to stay out of it, but the more I saw, the more I realized, you know what, these people need to know, this is not made up.”

A History Spanning Multiple Districts

Ryan’s employment history has now drawn scrutiny in multiple Georgia school systems.

The Citizen previously reported that records from Gwinnett County Schools showed Ryan was removed from substitute teaching assignments after complaints from middle school students in 2009.

The newspaper later reported that Coweta County Schools Superintendent Evan Horton said Ryan failed to disclose his Atlanta Public Schools employment on his Coweta application, despite application instructions requiring complete educational employment history.

More recently, Coweta Schools officials said an email Ryan presented in a campaign video to defend himself did not match district records obtained by The Citizen.

The retired principal said she struggles to understand how some voters dismiss concerns that have surfaced repeatedly over the course of Ryan’s career.

“How is it that there are people that actually, I mean, I don’t mean any offense, but how can people actually look at the longevity of these concerns, the repeated behavior, and think that they’re made up?” she said.

She also expressed concern about what she views as potential risks to Coweta County should Ryan be elected.

“His lack of professionalism, his use of words, his use of how he puts himself forward to people is a vulnerability for the county,” she said. “There is, you know, a serious risk of financial loss if he were to do something that would compromise the commission or the public’s trust in your commission.”

Last Friday, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission confirmed to The Citizen that it has an open ethics case involving Ryan.

The retired principal said she understands some may question why she chose to speak publicly years after Ryan left Atlanta Public Schools.

“I have absolutely nothing to gain from this,” she said.

“That’s exactly why I’m doing it, because I feel like it is the right thing.”

Tim Ryan faces Republican Dakota Caldwell in Tuesday’s runoff election for the District 3 seat on the Coweta County Commission.