By Bob Wooten

Remember this movie?

In the opening scene Strasburg High School's principal resigns abruptly, and with almost no explanation.

It sends a ripple through the whole community. Parents, teachers and students are left puzzled and worried as, inevitably, the rumor mill rumbles to life with all manner of stories.

Meanwhile, Shenandoah County education officials circle the wagons, clamping down hard on information about the principal's departure. The excuse: It's a "personnel matter."

Fade to black. Roll credits.

The script for "Strasburg Confidential" was written back in 2004 when former Strasburg Principal Eddie Campbell mysteriously disappeared from the scene. Daily reporters tried repeatedly to get some information about what happened, but to no avail.

A few months later, we caught up with Campbell, who was working at a 7-Eleven store near Double Tollgate. We couldn't get a word out of him, either.

Now comes the sequel.

Strasburg Principal Karen C. Spillman resigned abruptly on Monday, just days before the start of classes and only three weeks after coming on board.

Also just like 2004, school officials have gone into "Cone of Silence" mode, again describing it as a "personnel matter." On Wednesday, when the School Board accepted her resignation, Chairman Gary Rutz went as far as to say she had left citing "health reasons."

When first asked about Spillman, Superintendent Keith Rowland wouldn't say much. He eventually acknowledged that she had turned in her resignation.

School officials even made us submit a written request under the state's Freedom of Information Act to find out that they paid Spillman $4,283.10 for her brief principalship.

Unfortunately, when public officials hunker down it makes it hard to get much insight into what happened.

It's just possible, though, that taxpayers and parents might have better luck. Here are the folks to get in touch with, along with their e-mail addresses:

* Superintendent B. Keith Rowland, bkrowland@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

* School Board Chairman Gary L. Rutz, District 4, glrutz@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

* Vice Chairman Richard L. Koontz Jr., District 2, rkoontz@holtzmancorp.com.

* Board member Evelyn L. Burner, District 1, elburner@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

* Board member Kathryn G. Holsinger, District 3, kgholsinger@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

* Board member Lisa G. Currie, District 5, lgcurrie@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

* Board member Sonya Williams-Giersch, District 6, swgiersch@shenandoah.k12.va.us.

Go to www.shenandoah.k12.va.us for home and office phone numbers — I don't have space here.

Ask them about the Karen Spillman situation (or even the Eddie Campbell saga, if you're still curious).

Also ask how they vet candidates for important jobs. Who screens them and who has the final say? Do you do criminal background checks? Do you search online court records? Do you type the name into Google and see what pops up? When you check references, do you work back channels to get the inside scoop? When you see a red flag, how do you proceed?

And when things go wrong, does protecting the departed employee always trump the concerns of students, parents and taxpayers?

Maybe if we pose those questions "Strasburg Confidential III" won't go into production.

* Bob Wooten is the managing editor of the Daily. Contact him at (800) 296-5137 or at bwooten@nvdaily.com .