Vladimir Kadachigov: "I get up at four in the morning, I think about school"...

      Don't think that the dismissal has badly knocked me down, although, to be honest, having become a director at 27, and now being 64, and having been completely immersed in the life and problems of the school, today I feel a little sad and hurt. But I am a biologist — now there is time to do science, and I also write poetry and music... No, I am not alone: the children call — they have requests and suggestions, teachers need support and advice, and besides, I do not intend to abandon or forget the school.

      As Vladimir Leonidovich explained, his dismissal was neither spontaneous nor unexpected:

      "They sent me a notice of non-renewal of my employment contract three months in advance. Of course, I knew I would have to leave. But I kept silent — didn't tell a soul that August 25 was my last working day, although I came, could not not come, on September 1 for the assembly. No, I did not harbor hopes that the city leadership would change its mind about me, but I understood that if the teaching staff learned about my departure in advance, many would leave School No.47 — quit altogether or transfer to other schools for objective reasons. Yes, I personally recruited many of these talented and selfless teachers: I saw a God-given gift, kindness, tolerance and love for the children. These are not just enthusiasts, and for them teaching is much more than a profession, it is a shared diagnosis. Could I tell them I was leaving? And who then would prepare the school for the start of the academic year?"

      By the way, the farewell to the veteran educator was "dull": "I went to the personnel department, got my work record book... Now the main task is to take care of recalculing my pension."

      "Indeed," said the Kirov Department of Education, "it turned out badly... Sort of 'neither thank you nor give a damn.' They said the leadership would shake hands ceremoniously, give speeches, shed a tear — only later... But you can't have the prized egg before Christ's Day. He took with him his thin work record book, 35 years' service as a director and, probably, a grudge."

      Recall that on September 1 more than three hundred people signed a petition demanding the return to School No.47 of the director who is "the father and soul of the school."

      The parents' wish was also supported by city council deputies. Some consider it "the machinations of Simakov, who promised Kadachigov's position to someone of his own." Others are sure that "Slavik" promised nothing to anyone — "everyone runs from the post as from leprosy," and today in education the time has come when "a holy place will remain empty," so "he just played the fool."

      "Today there is a wild shortage of teachers in the field of municipal education. How do you entice recent graduates? With wild responsibility, difficult pupils — the perverse education system has borne its fruits: every schoolchild knows their rights but has no idea of duties or respect for the teacher. Or lure them with a salary that is not commensurate with this 'backbreaking work'? And it's hard to find a person for the director's post even with a flashlight. Because those like Vladimir Leonidovich, for whom the life of the school equals their own, are few. And they all come from the USSR," reflects city council deputy Vladimir Zhuravlev.

      At the same time Vladimir Veniaminovich believes that the words of the head of the City Administration Vyacheslav Simakov — "Probably cooperation with Kadachigov will continue in another format" — will not prove empty. And the director, "who is full of strength and knowledge, who built the school with his own hands," will not be left without work:

      "There are cases when one director manages two kindergartens or two schools. I would not have fired Vladimir Leonidovich; I would have begged him to stay at least for a year — until reaching a normal retirement age, because the current pedagogical personnel reserve is a real zero. Yes, today the ministry and the education department have begun to address the staffing issue, but raising a new school director is not like waiting for porcini mushrooms after the rain."

      However, as Kadachigov himself said, no one offered him anything.