Brattleboro Union High School. File photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger This story by Chris Mays was first published in the Brattleboro Reformer on Oct. 8. 2026. BRATTLEBORO — The Vermont Supreme Court upheld the school board’s firing of a high school principal. The court said that afte r an internal investigation into complaints that former BUHS principal Steve Perrin “mistreated a female student on multiple occasions and attempted to prevent a mandatory report of child abuse,” the Windham Southeast School District Board terminated his employment. The Bennington Superior Court, Civil Division upheld the decision in November 2025 and Perrin appealed.  In its Oct. 2 decision, the Vermont Supreme Court said it finds “no constitutional deficiency in either the termination or discovery process and conclude[s] that sufficient evidence supported the Board’s termination decision.” Perrin was employed at BUHS from 2011 through Nov. 14, 2022. During an investigation into staff misconduct throughout the district, a former BUHS student came forward and Perrin was placed on administrative leave. The student is referred to as Jane Doe in court documents and has spoken with The Commons weekly newspaper about the experience and recent ruling. “I am grateful to the Vermont Supreme Court for affirming what the school board, witnesses, survivor accounts, and now multiple court rulings have made clear: Steve Perrin’s conduct was serious, harmful, and grounds for his removal from BUHS,” she told the paper. “The courts have now said so repeatedly, and the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision explicitly recognized that the record was consistent with the Board’s findings and that there was substantial corroboration. “The court has rejected Perrin’s attempts to undermine the findings against him and affirmed that he should never again be in a position of authority over students. I thank them for recognizing the seriousness of his misconduct and for refusing to allow his efforts to shift blame and erase what happened.” The Supreme Court said Perrin’s firing was supported by a “harmful investigation of a sexual assault,” which involved interviewing the student alone, not notifying her parents despite her request, and threatening to tell the police she had made a false report when she refused to answer his questions. He was found to have engaged in a pattern of harassment, abuse and unprofessional conduct toward Jane Doe from 2009 until she graduated in 2012, which included repeatedly calling her to his office without specific reasons, making her wait outside his office to shame her, saying unwelcome comments about her appearance and touching her hair. He also instructed an employee not to make a report of suspected child abuse even though she believed she was legally required to do so as a mandated reporter, according to the decision. Perrin argued that the board denied him due process in the pre-termination stage because it did not provide him with the evidence supporting the charges and that the investigation was “one-sided and stacked against him.” Without being given a copy of the evidence, he claimed he could not respond accurately to the allegations. He also told the courts he felt the board was biased against him and questioned how it could act as both investigator and adjudicator in the process. His attorney Theodore Kramer called the recent decision “a bitter pill to swallow.” “The reality is that it is very difficult to overcome findings made by a school board, as the Supreme Court is extremely deferential in those circumstances,” he said in a statement.  Kramer said he hopes “the community will remember, when reflecting on Steve, that despite the accusations made against him, he had the unwavering support of all three superintendents under whom he served, as well as his staff and colleagues, both male and female.”  “During my many, many, many hours with him, he never had a single unkind word to say about anyone,” Kramer said. “He was the epitome of resolute calm, knowing that he had always, always, always conducted himself with the best interests of our children at heart.” Doe told The Commons that Perrin “did not act in a vacuum.” “What happened to me happened inside a school, over years, in plain view of adults whose job was to keep students safe,” she told the newspaper. “When an institution lets someone in power treat a student this way for so long, it has failed its students and the public.” Doe told The Commons that she hopes “this is the end of a painful chapter and that our community can move forward, but that can only happen when institutions believe survivors, protect their students, and make sure that what happened here is never allowed to happen again.” School Board Chairwoman Deborah Stanford did not immediately respond to a request from the Reformer for comment. She told the Commons, “I am unable to comment in detail regarding the recent court ruling. I am sure that I speak for many in stating that I am relieved to move beyond this issue.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Supreme Court sides with school board on principal firing. ...read more read less