WEST SALEM — A group of angry West Salem Elementary School parents will protest the return of the once-fired principal Tuesday on his first day back.

They will be keeping their elementary-age children home from school and walking a picket line in front of the school to object to John J. Smalley’s return, said Tammy Gensch, a member of the group and parent of an elementary and middle school student.

“I really think people who work with children need to be held up to a higher standard,” Gensch said.

The group also has organized a petition and is encouraging parents, students and community members to file formal complaints, she said.

“As parents in West Salem, we have to make a stand,” she said. “The school board cannot touch Mr. Smalley any longer. The power has shifted to us.”

Smalley, who has been principal since July 2005, was fired Jan. 25 for “neglect of duty and dishonesty surrounding his job performance in recent months.”

He was originally placed on administrative leave Dec. 11, 2007, two days after he was arrested for a reported domestic disturbance with his wife.

Smalley was charged with battery and disorderly conduct in La Crosse County Circuit Court but pleaded guilty March 5 to disorderly conduct in return for dropping the battery charge. The disorderly conduct charge also can be dismissed in a year if Smalley meets conditions of the agreement.

Smalley was reinstated as West Salem Elementary School principal and reimbursed the salary and benefits he would have received, and placed back on paid administrative leave in April.

The West Salem School Board said Thursday that its original decision to fire Smalley was made on the advice of legal counsel and based on that legal counsel’s investigation. Soon after the termination, the board said, it learned it had "received erroneous legal advice regarding its decision.”

After “a thorough and complete investigation and review of the evidence,” an investigator determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a termination hearing or any other discipline against Smalley, the school board said.

“Based on the information provided by the new investigator and the advice provided by the new counsel, the school board was advised that it never should have removed Mr. Smalley from his duties as principal or terminated Mr. Smalley's contract in the first place,” the school board said.

The picket line of at least 15 confirmed parents will form about 7:15 a.m. on the sidewalk in front of the elementary school, Gensch said. Participants are asked to bring their own sign with no profanity. Parents will walk the line all day or return about 2:30 p.m.

For more information on how to get involved with the efforts, call Gensch at (608) 786-3975.