February 3, 2023

Subject: Vote of No Confidence regarding President William B. Caldwell, IV To The Board of

Trustees:

We are reaching out to you today to express our great concern and fear regarding the current
climate and uncertain future of the institution of Georgia Military College. At this critical
juncture, we as members of the Prep School Faculty of Georgia Military College issue a vote of
No Confidence in the president of the college, William B. Caldwell, for the following reasons:

1. Failure to follow policy and procedures:

• The GMC employee handbook states in section 2. 1.5 "Discharge" that "Discharge will
occur after a careful review of the case with the appropriate administrator […] and a
review of the case by the Vice President of Human Resources for documentation
adequacy and compliance with GMC policy." The events surrounding the termination of
Principal Steve Greer occurred within two hours of the email from Principal Greer to the
faculty stating that he was informed that he would not be returning after the end of the
school year but would be finishing out his contract.

o Policy 2.1.5 does not apply in this situation as Dr. Greer was not discharged
from employment. He was removed from his role as Principal of the
Preparatory School and offered a lateral transfer to work with our Junior
College while maintaining his same pay and benefits.

o The institution had begun succession planning in the fall of 2022 for several
leaders that are eligible for retirement in the next 1-3 years. The intent was to
produce an organizational plan that ensured transitions would take place with
minimal disruption to the organization. Dr. Greer was part of these discussions.

o In discussion (1/30) with the President, Dr. Greer was informed that he would
move into a new role. The President informed Dr. Greer that the
announcement of this transition would be included as part of a larger
organizational plan, briefed to the Board of Trustees, and then effectively
communicated with faculty, staff, parents, and students.

o The following morning, Dr. Greer independently announced his departure in an

email sent only to the Prep School faculty and staff. The email inferred Dr.
Greer would not remain with the institution after the school year and that he
had no future plans. Dr. Greer did not follow specific instructions; this
communication, without coordination, created the confusion we were seeking
to avoid.
 o Shortly after Dr. Greer sent the email announcing his departure at the end of
the school year, he separately emailed the President affirming his commitment
to the lateral transfer to the Junior College. The emails appeared contradictory.

o With the intent to clarify Dr. Greer’s messaging, the President met with Dr.
Greer (1/31). During the conversation, the President determined he had lost
confidence in Dr. Greer to continue as Principal as this was another incident of
improper communication and coordination. This was not a “knee-jerk
reaction” to one isolated email but rather a culmination of multiple
communication and coordination issues.

o It was communicated to Dr. Greer that the offer to laterally transfer with the
same pay and benefits to the Junior College was still an active offer. Dr. Greer
declined the transfer.

2. Actions that are not in the best interest of the institution:

• The termination of Principal Steve Greer, which has led to negative press for the
institution. Terminating him instantly after that email was a knee-jerk reaction that has
brought about outrage by parents, students, faculty, staff, and the community at large.
This has led to a Change.org petition calling for the retirement of William B. Caldwell, IV,
which has garnered over 800 signatures within only 36 hours.

o As stated above, Dr. Greer was not terminated but, in fact, resigned from the
institution by refusing to accept a lateral transfer with no reduction in pay and
benefits. This was not a “knee-jerk reaction” to one isolated email but rather a
culmination of multiple communication and coordination issues.

• The appearance of a misappropriation of funds that has led to a special audit by the
Department of Audits and Accounts / House Appropriations Committee of the Georgia
State Legislature and could lead to fundamental changes in the structure of GMC Prep
School or the termination of the K-3 program. At the end of SY 21-22, Governor Kemp
authorized a one-time $2000 payment for full-time teachers. Teachers in the prep
school began asking about this stipend in the spring of 2022, and we were initially told
in a faculty meeting in May 2022 that we would not receive this stipend. After Principal
Greer requested clarification with the institution, we were eventually informed we
would receive a partial sum so that the funds, earmarked for teachers of grades 4-12,
could be distributed among all teachers. The reduced pre-tax amount was stated at
$1744, and the actual amount after taxes was $1126.

o GMC is currently undergoing a special examination by the Department of

Audits and Accounts (DOAA). We understand this is a routine audit for new
legislators to better understand how GMC operates.
 § The Special Examination objectives were codified for us in November to
determine:
• What are the various funding streams of GMC?
• What is the Governance structure of GMC as it relates to public
resources?
• What options exist for modernizing the state’s obligations and
oversight of GMC?

We welcome this audit as an opportunity to solidify language in a document

for lawmakers to reference to better understand our unique institution.

o To state that this audit was caused by a misappropriation of funds is

completely false. As a State entity, GMC undergoes a financial audit, and many
other annual audits, each fiscal year.

o GMC can confirm in a May faculty meeting a question was asked about the
$2,000 stipend and whether or not it applied to the faculty. A representative at
the meeting stated, “it probably did not.” At the time, the Resource
Management office had been working to determine how, what, and who the
money applied to and in what form (bonus, stipend, supplement, or base
salary adjustment).

o This was corrected the next day and communicated to the Prep School. Upon
publication of the Proposed AFY2022 Budget, GMC determined there was not
enough funding to pay each teacher the $2,000 salary supplement. During
various House and Senate Appropriation meetings, GMC requested additional
State funding to fulfill the whole $2,000 per teacher pledge. However, when
approved, the Amended Fiscal Year 2022 budget only allocated enough funds
to pay $1,744 per eligible GMC employee. GMC paid out 100% of the State
funding allocated to the Salary Supplement to those eligible employees. No
bonus funding from that state allocation was given to GMC Institutional staff,
nor to Junior College employees or faculty. In order to provide the largest
stipend possible to our full-time staff/faculty, four administrators opted out of
the bonus and those funds were reproportioned across all eligible positions.

• In meetings, William B. Caldwell has repeatedly been heard to speak about events
happening at the institution and how it will affect his legacy. The wording is often “How
will this affect MY legacy" instead of remaining focused on the goal shared by the faculty
of this institution: educating students and elevating their character. The perception is
that his focus is firmly on himself rather than on the good of the institution.

o The President routinely asks, "How will this decision or event affect the future
leaders of GMC?" The President is a forward thinker who always makes a
conscious effort to ensure that the decisions he makes now will benefit the
 institution and make it a better place long after he has retired. It is the legacy
of GMC that the President is always concerned with, not the legacy of himself
or one individual.

o Anyone who knows the President at all is aware that his top priority at GMC is
the students. He loves to interact with students from Kindergarten to Junior
College every chance he gets, and he takes a personal interest in every one of
them. When he talks with the students, he does many times challenge them to
think critically about the legacy they and their class will leave for GMC.

3. Expansion of prep school without legislative approval:

• Although we have not been briefed and were only recently informed by our Principal via
email on January 25th at 2:24 p.m. about the special audit, it is logical to assume that
the unauthorized expansion of grades K-3 is the action that led to the scrutiny by the
Department of Audits and Accounts /House Appropriations Committee of the Georgia
legislature, thus bringing about the audit that may spell disaster for GMC. This topic is
obviously very important to the faculty and staff of GMC Prep, especially in light of the
future employment of staff and faculty.

o GMC Prep School is fully recognized by the state of Georgia as a K-12

institution and is fully funded as such. The expansion of the Prep School is not
associated with the special examination by DOAA. Plans to expand the Prep
School were submitted as part of the annual submission of our strategic
initiatives to the State and communicated to the Governor’s Office of Planning
and Budget (OPB). We did learn during this process that the legislative offices
are not always informed of what is submitted to OPB, and this did cause
confusion during the legislative session. We addressed those concerns
adequately and have since made it standard operating procedure to inform all
offices of any initiatives that have an impact on that state budget.

4. Lack of transparency and trust:

• Meetings to discuss the state of the school are rare, never include our most important
stakeholders the parents, and issues that do not present the current administration in
the best light (e.g., audit by the state, lack of completion of the Fine Arts building, lack
of progress on the Academic Center of Excellence, vastly decreased enrollment in the
Junior College) are omitted entirely. When uncomfortable briefings are held (such as the
meeting held at 3:15 p.m. on January 31st following the sudden termination of principal
Greer), questions are not allowed by LTG Caldwell.

o Every senior leader participates in a weekly leadership meeting where all of

these items, and more, are discussed. The intent of these meetings is to
coordinate and inform with the direct guidance and expectation of the
 President for senior leaders to then ensure that their faculty and staff are
informed as well and, in doing so, that each leader aligns their team with the
spirit of GMC.

o We do agree that communication and coordination from the Prep School to the
parents has not been as effective as it should have been. It is the expectation
of the President that the Principal of the Prep School carries the responsibility
for holding and maintaining these communication channels.

o It has become apparent to us that information on topics above, such as Junior

College enrollments and construction projects, were not well-communicated in
the Prep School. Most other areas of the institution feel as if they are updated
since their department head keep regular communication disseminated from
such departments as College Enrollment Management, Junior College
Academic Affairs, Information Technology, and Engineering. We have taken
steps to rectify this lack of information, such as having information sessions
directly with Prep School faculty and staff.

o President Caldwell maintains an open-door policy and regularly meets with all
stakeholders at their request. He welcomes questions. However, such as the
information-sharing meeting on 1/31, these meetings are at times held
without questions, especially when the meeting relates to personnel matters.

• At our most recent institutional assembly on Wednesday, January 25th at 3:30 p.m., at
the end of the presentations, the President did not open the floor for questions but
simply dismissed the faculty and staff and referred all questions to the Director of
Communications.

o Our desire is for every member of the GMC Family to feel as if they are an
important, integral member of the family, and should they have questions or
concerns, these are addressed in a satisfactory manner.

o At the recent institute-wide Faculty and Staff Meeting, President Caldwell ended
the meeting by saying he wanted to answer everyone's questions and that they
should email them to the institution’s Director of Communications. The reason a
Q&A was not held directly after the meeting was that the President wanted to
allow everyone to have an early release and not be required to stay for questions
that did not apply to them. Additionally, faculty and staff from our satellite
locations were watching a live stream of this meeting and were unable to submit
questions because it did not offer a chat option. We made the decision to treat all
employees equally to ensure that those attending in person were not given a
forum not afforded to the rest of the institution. In an effort for fairness and
transparency, alternate mechanisms for questions were communicated.
 o To date, the Director of Communications received one question in relation to
the Preparatory School that was answered quickly.

o This week the President and members of the Senior Team began a series of
after-school meetings with the Prep School Faculty to address any questions
and concerns they have involving the organization and operation of the Prep
School, Junior College, and Institution as it has become apparent that
information communicated to the Prep School was not being adequately
addressed by Prep School leadership. These meetings will continue as long as
the faculty want them to continue until all questions are answered.

• The position of Assistant Superintendent was suddenly created in the Spring of 2021
without the Board of Trustees' approval (not found in board minutes), and was not
announced or posted for other qualified applicants.

o The position of Assistant Superintendent was created to support the growth of

the Preparatory School, as we brought on the faculty and staff for the K-5
program. The position is also responsible for training, onboarding, and
inculcating GMC culture for all new hires. Since GMC is so unique in its culture,
this was an essential position to ensure the continuity of our great
atmosphere. This position handles NewDay USA admissions, interviews and
scholarship awards.

o The creation and personnel selection for the Assistant Superintendent followed
the GMC hiring policy 1.14. The Principal was a single incumbent job (one
person held the position of Principal); therefore, this person was eligible for
promotion into the position without advertisement. Positions created for staff
and faculty do not require Board approval, as that authority is delegated to the
President.

• In addition, the Prep School Superintendent position was invented without discussion
with faculty and staff, and solely for the purpose of receiving state funds to help cover a
portion of the President's salary. Since 1879, our institution had never installed a
superintendent and the need for such a position is baffling.

o The President assumed the title of Superintendent as a “dual-hat” in his

already existing role as the President of the College. Upon learning more about
the school’s funding formula from OPB for the Preparatory School, it was
discovered that three existing positions already functioning in the Prep School
had never been listed on a roster for the school’s reimbursement allocation.
These positions were superintendent, school nurse, and resource officer. After
this discovery, all existing positions that already functioned at the school were
added to the list for reimbursement. This resulted in increased funding
allocations to support the Prep School. This did not result in an increase in
 salary for any of the listed positions, merely an increased reimbursement for
these existing positions from the State. The effort to investigate the funding
formula more thoroughly directly infused financial support to the operations of
the Prep School.

• There is overall concern among the faculty regarding the relationship between the
institution and NewDay USA. Since Caldwell brought them to GMC, their organization
has had increasing influence and control over areas of the institution. For one example,
the Prep School Center for Education of the Arts had to undergo a name change to the
NewDay USA Center for Leadership, and a building originally intended solely for student
use has become at least partially a center focused on the initiatives of NewDay USA.

o NewDay USA proudly supports 12 military schools across the United States,
including GMC Prep School. Through their association with GMC Prep, they
have come to believe that our school is the finest military prep school in the
country. Over the past seven years, NewDay USA has provided nearly $2
million dollars in scholarships for students in our Prep School. They have been
equally generous in supporting the Center for Leadership, which will offer a
state-of-the-art facility dedicated to bringing in world-class leadership speakers
and performing arts for the benefit of our students and community.

o We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of the NewDay USA family for the
lives they are changing in our community.

5. Fear of retaliation:

• When berating administration in a meeting about an error that had occurred with the
roster for a sporting event, Caldwell declared, "I'm so powerful it's scary!" after
threatening to fire the employees with whom he was speaking. He actually said, "If I
want to fire someone, I just turn to Jill Robbins and say 'Make it happen!" There were six
employees present for these statements.

o Three Senior Leaders that attended the meeting recall this conversation. An
error was made when a coach submitted to GHSA the roster of eligible
participants for the State competition. It was devastating for all involved, the
student, parent, coach, and other staff and faculty. The President called a
meeting to convene those involved who could help prevent this from
happening again. It was an emotional meeting in which the President stated he
was not going to fire anyone over the incident. For context, he stated he said
he wasn’t firing anyone and then stated that if he wanted to fire someone, he
was capable, and he would ask Jill Robbins to make it happen. The quote listed
in this letter is out of context and implies the President was exerting his power
when in contrast, he was not asserting his power to fire someone.
 • There is a pervasive air throughout the institution that questions are not welcome, and
that pushback could result in retaliation and even termination. For that reason, most
faculty are extremely reluctant to sign their actual names to this document, and will
instead sign "Anonymous Teacher" in an attempt to protect their employment. Several
teachers are so concerned that even that precaution was not enough; however, they
have provided their verbal support.

o No employee at GMC is ever removed for having an opinion or asking

questions. The President has always welcomed opinions and input and factors
them into the decisions he makes. GMC adheres to a no-retaliation policy and
follows the policies and procedures in regard to discipline and standards of
conduct.

Based on the above concerns, we are requesting a meeting with the entire GMC Board of
Trustees in an off-campus location and without the presence of administration to discuss the
future of our beloved institution. It is our carefully considered opinion that Georgia Military
College Board of Trustees should ask for the immediate resignation of William B. Caldwell, IV.
We have no confidence in his leadership.