UPDATE 5/13/17: Jonathan Holley, the janitor featured in the video, has released a video update about the story. Watch it here.
(LinkedIn)
Susan Opferman is the high school principal at Webb Bridge Middle School in Alpharetta, Georgia featured in a viral video showing her reprimanding a janitor named Jonathan Holley. It is heavily implied that the janitor was let go after the recorded events, as a later video of him shows him driving for Uber.
The original sharer of the video, Redditor Eric1221, claims that Holley was fired and that he is reaching out to him for an update.
The video is originally from August 2016 but shot to the top of Reddit today.
Here’s what you need to know about Susan Opferman:
1. Holley Came Into Work Early & Left Early
The video begins with Opferman asking Holley, “So, Jonathan, what are your hours?”
The custodian tells her that he works at the school from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., but that this morning was different so he felt he could leave early. That morning the local fire department needed to do a routine inspection of the school and they came early, so Holley “clocked in” at 6:15 so that the firemen didn’t have to sit around and wait until 6:30.
Because of his early day, Holley decided to leave at 2:52.
Opferman contradicts this and says that she was calling for him at 2:45.
In a condescending manner, Opferman goes on to tell him that he should have made the firemen wait that morning, as the school is not officially open until 6:30. She says she will have to get human resources involved. She repeatedly asks Holley, “Who’s your boss?” And refers to herself in the third person as “Susan Opferman.”
Holley acknowledges this but then goes on to ask why the principal is always harassing him, citing past grievances. Opferman denies this and again says she will have to speak to HR. “We are done here,” she says.
2. Georgia Is a ‘One Party Consent’ State
The Atlanta skyline. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
The video of the event was secretly recorded by Holley. According to the Digital Media Law Project, Georgia is a “one-party consent” state, meaning that only one of the parties has to consent to be recorded. Opferman did not know she was being recorded.
According to Justia, the Georgia law reads:
Nothing in Code Section 16-11-62 shall prohibit a person from intercepting a wire, oral, or electronic communication where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception.
One party consent states are in the majority when it comes to recording conversations. There are only 11 “two-party” or “all party” consent states in the United States. They include California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
3. Opferman Has Been a Principal at Webb Bridge Middle School Since 2011
(Twitter)
According to her LinkedIn, Opferman has been a principal at Webb Bridge Middle School since June 2011. She writes, “I am principal of a middle school with a student population of 1350 students. The school is located northeast of Atlanta.” Prior to that, she was an administrator at Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Like Alpharetta, Gwinnett County is located in the north-central region of the state.
She obtained her Masters in Education from the University of Georgia and received her undergrad education from the University of Florida.
In 2011, Opferman received the 2011 Middle School Assistant Principal of the Year award, according to this press release. It adds:
Ms. Opferman joined Gwinnett County Public Schools in 1988 as a 4th grade teacher at Sugar Hill Elementary. She also taught at Walnut Grove Elementary and at Creekland Middle before being named assistant principal in 2003. Currently wrapping up her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, Ms. Opferman holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in Middle Grades Education from the University of Georgia (UGA), and a specialist’s degree in Education also from UGA. In addition to being certified in Leadership from UGA, Ms. Opferman also is a graduate of the school district’s Quality-Plus Leader Academy.
4. Her ‘Rate My Teacher’ Page Has Been Targeted by Sympathizers of Holley
(Rate My Teachers)
Following the virality of the video, Opferman’s page on the popular RateMyTeachers.com has been targeted by sympathizers of Holley. Nearly 100 comments have been made since this morning. Comments on the forum include:
Disgrace for a human being, some people should not be in positions of power and this is a prime example.
This woman should not be allowed to have the authority to influence others in any capacity.
This woman is cruel and unprofessional. Such a low class move to talk down to that man when he put in extra work. Shameful to have such a immature person working for this school.
The video originally gained traction on Reddit despite being nearly a year old. There, some Redditors said they could sympathize with Opferman despite disliking her approach. Redditor eXtreme98 writes:
On one hand, I can understand their point of view. The guy both came in early and left early without notifying his boss. They needed him 15 minutes before his day was up and he wasn’t available.
On the other hand, he’s a fucking human being. What is with people having the slightest bit of power f*cking with people? Just politely ask that he notify you or let him know — again, politely — that it’s not okay to do so.
Don’t be all “who’s your boss?” and asking other questions like you’re disciplining your child. People like this are disgusting.
5. The Fulton County Schools Has Released a Statement
(Twitter)
The Fulton County Schools has released a statement to Heavy regarding the Holley and Opferman video. It reads:
“We are aware of an August 2016 video that shows Webb Bridge Middle School Principal Susan Opferman being recorded by a former employee who was brought in to meet with her again for his continuing issues of coming to work late and leaving early.
Mrs. Opferman was subsequently on medical leave, and while on leave, the school continued to have personnel issues with this employee. This employee was not terminated, but did resign in May 2016.
While we understand that this video is receiving a great deal of attention on social media, it is important to distinguish that the conversations on social media do not fully reflect all the facts of this situation. Our HR professionals have begun a review of this matter in its entirety. Fulton County Schools has approximately 14,000 employees and we greatly value all of them.”
