BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Supreme Court on Oct. 2 upheld the 2022 firing of former Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) Principal Steve Perrin.
The court rejected his arguments that the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) board denied him due process, was biased against him, and lacked the evidence to dismiss him.
The unanimous decision, written by Associate Justice Christina E. Nolan, affirms a November 2025 ruling by Judge David A. Barra in the Bennington civil division. That ruling granted summary judgment to the district, the board, and individual board members.
The Commons was the first to report the allegations against Perrin and has interviewed the former student at the center of the case, who has spoken to the newspaper on the condition that she not be named. She has been named in court documents, and throughout the newspaper’s coverage of the issue, as Jane Doe.
Attorney: Perrin was ‘epitome of resolute calm’
Perrin’s attorney, Theodore C. Kramer of Kramer Law PC in Brattleboro, called the most recent ruling “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,” Kramer said, going on to note support for Perrin among his former staff members and superintendents.
“I hope 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,” the lawyer said.
“During my many, many, many hours with him, he never had a single unkind word to say about anyone,” Kramer continued.
“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,” his lawyer said.
Student: Perrin ‘did not act in a vacuum’
Doe spoke to The Commons Oct. 5 about the decision.
“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 said. “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.”
Doe added that responsibility extends beyond Perrin, who, she said, “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 said. “When an institution lets someone in power treat a student this way for so long, it has failed its students and the public.”
She said that “real accountability has to reach the systems that allowed this to happen, not only the man who did it.”
“I hope 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.”
Doe also addressed others who have experienced abuse.
“To anyone who has their own story to tell, I hope you have the support you need to come forward,” she said. “And to those whose stories will never be spoken, I see you and I stand right alongside you.”
Asked for comment, Windham Southeast School District Board Chair Deborah Stanford said, “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.”
David Schoales of Brattleboro, WSESD board chair at the time Perrin was fired, said they were not surprised by the decision.
“I was not surprised that the Vermont Supreme Court upheld the decision of the WSESD School Board to terminate Mr. Perrin’s employment for cause,” Schoales told The Commons Monday. “The evidence was clear, and we followed the legal advice in the minutest detail. This was hard work and the board did what was right.
“My only regret is that our broad investigation into other more egregious crimes by previous employees was not made public,” said Schoales, referring to the sexual abuse investigation the board hired attorney Aimee Goddard of Annis and Goddard to conduct.
Goddard’s report contained substantiated reports of sexual abuse from several former students, but it was never released to the public.
WSESD cited three just-cause grounds for dismissal
Doe alleged that when she was a sophomore at BUHS in 2010, Perrin started to make unwanted and inappropriate sexual and romantic advances toward her and found other ways to make her life difficult, including trying to prevent her from graduating.
It is also believed the former principal did not report her rape by a fellow student to the authorities, as he was mandated to do as an educator.
Friends and classmates corroborated Doe’s story, having witnessed Perrin’s continuing treatment of her.
In addition, BUHS staff members came forward to say Perrin instructed at least one former employee in 2020 not to report to the Vermont Dept. of Children and Families (DCF) when made aware of incidents involving a then-14-year-old female student they believed required mandatory reporting.
Perrin was principal of Brattleboro Union High School from 2012 until Nov. 14, 2022. He was previously one of three vice principals and served as interim principal before he was given the job.
In January 2022, in response to reports of staff misconduct, the school board hired an independent attorney to investigate. The investigator received a complaint from Doe about Perrin’s past conduct toward her. The investigator also received a complaint about Perrin from a school counselor at the time.
The district placed Perrin on administrative leave in April 2022, and Doe, Perrin, and other witnesses and gave reports on both investigations to the board.
On Sept. 30, 2022, the board sent Perrin a letter outlining the allegations, warning they could be grounds for termination and inviting a written response. He responded in writing and submitted letters of support.
The WSESD board voted unanimously on Nov. 8, 2022 to fire Perrin. He had not been on the job since before spring break of 2022, although he continued to collect his $122,000 annual salary and benefits.
The board officially terminated Perrin’s employment by letter, dated Nov. 14, 2022, on three just-cause grounds: an “inappropriate and harmful investigation” of an off-campus sexual assault on Doe, a pattern of “harassment, abuse, and unprofessional conduct” toward her, and his instruction to at least one employee not to make a mandatory report of suspected child abuse.
Perrin, who was an assistant principal at the time of the alleged conduct toward the student, denied the allegations.
The board, most significantly, cited the handling of Jane Doe’s report of a 2009 sexual assault, finding that Perrin, then an assistant principal, interviewed the student alone behind closed doors when she was a minor, ignored her request to notify her parents, and threatened to accuse her of filing a false report.
Perrin, the board said, also engaged in an ongoing pattern of repeated interactions with Doe that she experienced as harassing, intimidating, and inappropriate, like commenting on her appearance and touching her hair.
Finally, the board cited Perrin’s directing staff not to make a mandatory abuse report, though the report was eventually made after staff insisted.
Perrin appealed his firing to the board, which heard testimony from about a dozen witnesses over two weeks, including the student and several staff members.
The hearing ended Jan. 30, 2023, and in February 2023, the board upheld its decision.
In March 2023, Perrin filed a civil lawsuit in Superior Court, requesting a jury trial and damages for wrongful termination, breach of contract, due process violations, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
He named the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, the school board, and current and former board members.
Judge David A. Barra dismissed the wrongful termination claim in December 2023. In his Nov. 26, 2025, ruling, he upheld the board’s decision, rejected the remaining claims, and canceled a jury trial set for January 2026.
“Any interference with mandatory reporting obligations is inherently serious and supports dismissal, regardless of whether a report was ultimately filed,” Barra wrote at the time.
Chief Justice Paul Reiber and Associate Justices Harold E. Eaton Jr., Nancy Jear Waples, and Michael P. Drescher joined Friday’s decision.
Perrin was represented by Kramer and Tucker C. Kramer, also of Kramer Law.
The district and board were represented by Zachary I. Handelman and John H. Klesch of SP&F Attorneys in Burlington, which was hired by the Supervisory Union’s insurer.
District lawyers did not reply to a request for comment by press time.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.