Schools

Petition: School Superintendent Should Resign Over Plagiarism Allegations

Brenda Hodges was accused of stealing material for her speech during June's graduation ceremony.

An online petition demands that Mansfield schools Superintendent Brenda Hodges resign over allegation she plagiarized her commencement address last month.

There are several similarities between her speech and one delivered by U.S. Navy Admiral William McRaven during his commencement address at the University of Texas at Austin in May.

Hodges has denied stealing from McRaven's speech.

The petition, which had gathered nearly 300 signatures by Tuesday afternoon, was started by Catherine Saba. The Sun Chronicle reported Saba graduated from Mansfield High School last year.

"The status of education in the Mansfield Public School System is on the line," the petition reads. "If we want to set a good example for our students and surrounding areas of what Mansfield education is all about, we need a leader who will make the detrimental consequences of plagiarism clear and take no part in it themselves."

The School Committee was scheduled to discuss the controversy Tuesday night during a nonpublic meeting.


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