OPINION: Schum interview raises more questions than it answers

Dr. Paul A. Schum, center, as he appeared in a Louisville Metro Police Department dashboard video on Oct. 30th.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette

Sunday, March 9, 2008, 11:59 a.m. -- In the Friday, March 7th edition of The Kentucky Standard, former Bethlehem principal Dr. Paul A. Schum gives his side of the ordeal that led to his resignation.

But his sometimes tortured explanation of the events answers fewer questions than it raises. In the end, Schum sounds like someone caught with his hand in the cookie jar trying to blame the cookie jar.

Schum chose to -- again -- draw public attention to his citation for solicitation for prostitution, which was without doubt the most tumultuous five weeks in the history of Bethlehem High School. The sight of his grinning Bethlehem faculty photo on the newspaper web site made me wince. It is a reminder of how his now-famous mug shot and his story spread like wildfire across the country.

Schum's citation was a national news story (ironically, the archdiocesan newspaper The Record chose to completely ignore the story). His actions humiliated and embarrassed the school's students, alumni, parents and supporters -- and now he portrays himself as a victim.

And perhaps he is. But compare the statements Schum makes in the interview with the man you see in the police dashboard video. The capable, confident and always articulate principal that parents and student found so refreshing was reduced to a man searching for explanations but unable to offer little beyond the phrase "personal satisfaction."

Schum's description of his traffic stop doesn't exactly match what happened that evening.

According to Schum, he stopped near a rental property he owns in West Louisville to change out of the women's clothing he was wearing. But the police report and the video indicate he was not at his rental property. On the video, police clearly state -- and Schum confirms -- he was in an alley.

Jefferson County PVA records confirm that Schum has property in the area. Schum was near his property, but not parked there when he attracted the attention of Louisville Metro Police. According to police, Schum noticed them and left the alley. At that point, the officer stopped Schum.

Schum and his attorney had access to the videotape of the traffic stop. Had Schum mentioned anything about changing out of his costume at a rental property, I suspect the proof of Schum's alibi would have been blasted across the media. On the video, Schum is questioned by more than one officer. He is a man who looks like he's been caught; he is embarrassed and at a loss for words.

Schum had ample opportunity to explain -- on video -- why he was dressed as a woman, and why he stopped there to change. He had changed into the costume at a gas station near downtown -- did he really believe it a good idea to go into a high-crime area at night to a vacant home he owned to change clothes? And why was a West End alley a good place to change clothes?

And how about the equipment police found in his car described as "bondage gear?" Was this part of the costume too? Fortunately for Schum, he wasn't the one left to explain the terms "transvestite prostitute," "bondage gear" and "personal satisfaction" to his students -- that job was left to us parents (thanks, Dr. Schum).

Even if Schum's recollection of that evening is 100 percent accurate, there's no denying he made a long string of bad decisions that day.

In the Standard story, Schum now takes issue with everyone involved in his story -- the police, the Bethlehem School Board and the Archdiocese of Louisville.

But it was his own actions that put the school and its community through five weeks of hell. In the end, Schum admits he resigned not to end the embarrassment to the school, but on the advice of his attorney for the sake of his ability to get his next job.

In his interview, Schum says after his ordeal he's concerned with other Catholic school teachers being unfairly treated by the archdiocese. Was he treated unfairly? If I recall, the archdiocese refused to comment on personnel matters. The Rev. Bill Hammer even suggested perhaps it was as Schum said, a Halloween costume. The unfairness appears to be that the archbishop's lack of response to Schum's request for a letter of recommendation or a public statement regarding Schum's innocence. If I were Schum, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for either.

It's sad that this incident has ended -- for now -- Schum's teaching career in Kentucky. Will he ever find a education job again in the state? A blogger outside Kentucky suggested -- tongue planted firmly in cheek -- that Schum should seek employment with a university that has a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender studies program.

There's no doubt that Schum was effective at Bethlehem and that he can still be an excellent teacher and administrator. I believed in him, as did hundreds of other parents of Bethlehem students. The less Schum's name appears in the media about this story, the sooner he'll be able to resume teaching in Kentucky. It is going to take time for people to forget -- in some case, a lot of time.

Does Schum actually believe he could have returned to Bethlehem and been an effective principal and educator? He would never have regained the respect of the students, and from my estimates, about half of the parents would have yanked their kids out of the school had he been allowed to return. The school board had no choice but to move forward.

The unvarnished truth is that Schum's career at Bethlehem was over when the police dashcam video was made public. It didn't matter what the officer wrote on the citation, the video of a Catholic school principal in women's clothes and fishnet stockings at a loss for words to explain himself was all that was necessary.

As Schum himself admits in his interview, he is a risk-taker. But taking risks -- as Schum discovered -- can have unintended consequences.

“How do I restore my credibility?” Schum asked in his interview with The Standard. “Where do I get the opportunity to get my reputation back?"

Schum's reputation and credibility are both victims of this incident. From my vantage point, they can only be restored through the process in which they were first created: Hard work, honesty, integrity and exemplary leadership in education - and time, lots of time.