Wiscasset Middle High School Principal Gina Stevens was fired Thursday night for authorizing the installation of a hidden camera, among several other transgressions that the School Committee said made her unfit for the job.

The committee unanimously voted to terminate her employment following an unusual dismissal hearing that was open to the public. Such a hearing is usually conducted in a closed-doors executive session, but Stevens requested it be made public.

Stevens said she ordered the camera’s installation because the food pantry, located in a closet, kept getting broken into. A few days after it was installed, a teacher who said she was unaware of the camera allowed two girls to try on prom dresses in the pantry. Stevens said that was against her directives to the teacher and staff that students should only change clothes in bathrooms. Superintendent Kim Andersson said she never authorized Stevens to install the camera and said she was horrified when she learned students had changed in front of it.

The committee shared that horror.

“She exhibited poor judgment,” School Committee Chair Jason Putnam said. “Actions have consequences.”

Stevens declined to comment after the decision.

“Obviously, she’s disappointed,” her attorney, Gregg Frame, said.

Frame said a court appeal of the committee’s decision is possible, but that he hadn’t discussed that option with Stevens yet.

This story will be updated.

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