July 13, 2021

By Mallory Herrmann
Staff Reporter

Dr. David Sharp, principal at Pleasant Lea Middle School, has announced his retirement. His resignation will be effective at the end of this month, per an email he sent to the building’s staff last week.

The announcement was made just days before the district’s board of education was set to meet in a closed session to discuss a personnel matter. The board is voting in a closed meeting on July 13 whether to reverse Superintendent Dr. David Buck’s decision to terminate the contract of Joe Oswald, a tenured teacher and coach at PLMS who repeated a racial slur in front of students.

At a nearly 10-hour meeting June 23, the board heard testimony from teachers, administrators and former students.

Sharp was among the witnesses called by the district’s attorney. He said that he supported the decision to end Oswald’s contract, saying “you shouldn’t use the n-word in front of students.”

The board’s vote on whether to terminate the contract will be made public 72 hours after their meeting – about 5 p.m. on July 16.

The email that Sharp sent to his staff has been copied below.

Good evening Tigers.

I wanted to share with you that after much thought and consideration with my family and discussing the direction of our lives together, I have decided to retire from LSR7 and begin the next phase of my life and devote more time to my family. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to work with each of you and have PLMS be a part of my leadership journey. I sincerely appreciate your commitment and dedication to our students, families, and the Lee’s Summit community. To ensure a smooth transition, human resources and Dr. Brett Potts will work collaboratively with lead teachers, representative members of the PLMS community, and the district to select your new leader. My last day will be July 30th hence; the timeline/process will begin Monday, July 12.

I wish each of you continued success, and again thank you for all you do for the Lee’s Summit R7 School District.

Respectfully,

David