45 days left to go

From Friday right before an early dismissal for staff, an excerpt of an email from the principal titled, "Teacher's Lounge":

Remember that whatever you say in that lounge can and will be repeated to the administration, so I wonder why do it?

Her email is perhaps 3-5 paragraphs of rambling about negativity and how she just can't let it go. While I respect that she is in fact distressed about the negativity in her school, I take issue with her email for the following reasons:

• She is asking every staff member to call into question all of their colleagues. The message I got was, "Trust no one."
• She is effectively destroying one of the only safe spaces for teachers in the building. Already, everyone I have talked to has said that they won't eat in there any more. This is especially difficult for me because I personally spent the first two months of school getting teachers to eat together.  
• She specifically notes that she was advised not to send the email but does it anyway.
• She has made it very clear that we are not to bother her about anything unless it is an absolute necessity. Literally, she has said, "Don't ask me. You have a team leader for that." 
• Even when teachers do bring concerns to administration, those concerns are not always addressed or resolved. 
• She made no effort to personally address the problem. 

Some teachers have nervously pointed out that they hope they are not called into her office about this email. Frankly, I hope I am. I think that she really needs to reflect on the expectations she set at the beginning of the year and how that affects the culture of our school.