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HOLDEN, Mass. — Superintendent Thomas Pandiscio will retire Dec. 15, it was announced after executive session negotiations during Monday night's meeting of the Wachusett Regional School Committee.
Pandiscio had announced his intention to resign Aug. 13 in an email to school committee members, after an outcry from the community in relation to $2.6 million in accounting errors made in the district. He had made it clear that he would stay on as long as he was needed.
At their last meeting in August, school committee members put forward a motion to put a vote of confidence behind Pandiscio and not accept his resignation, though Monday night's decision rendered that effort moot.
According to chair Duncan Leith, the School Committee will be entering into negotiations with Glenwood Elementary Principal Anthony Gasbarro as a potential interim superintendent.
Pandiscio's current contract would have expired June 30, 2014, and would have automatically renewed until June 30, 2016.
Leith said he was sorry to see Pandiscio retire, adding that it had been "a pleasure to work with him."
Comments (69)
Forget all the rhetoric. Let’s stick with the facts.
The school committee made more than $3 Million in mistakes (this time – that we know about so far).
Peter Brennan resigned then he was fired.
Tom Pandiscio resigned then changed his mind and retired.
Senior school committee members Duncan Leith, Margaret Watson and Cindy Bazinet have repeatedly (year after year – time after time) failed to catch a single one of several huge financial mistakes, cost overruns and law suits yet they continually refuse to admit their mistakes / failures and resign.
School committee credibility (and any chance of getting increased funding) will remain at ZERO until Duncan Leith, Margaret Watson and Cindy Bazinet admit their failures and resign then quietly but quickly follow Mr. Brennan and Mr. Pandiscio out the door.
Ok, time's up. The answer is:
John Rokicki (Chair) and Duncan Leith (Co-chair). Some of you may recall that when I published a series of articles in The Princeton Outlook on special education in 2006, John Rokicki addressed the School Committee with multiple complaints about the first in the three-part series. I wonder if Mr. Rokicki knew that I had raised questions about that $1.4 million error with the DOE, Brennan, and the State Auditor the year before? Since he and Leith were involved in signing off on those $1.4 million special ed expenditures in 2003, which were excessively high due to an "error," it's a bit strange that he would be the one to raise criticisms about the SPED series. Add to that that Rokicki was Chair in 2001 and 2002, and Leith was Co-chair in 2002 - and it makes you wonder how vigilant they were in oversight and accountability. Remember, the Inspector General also found $139,000 in questionable expenditures from 2000 to 2004 as well. Leith has announced that he will not run again in the spring. But under the circumstances, he should step down because three strikes and you're out.
Please, Ed, do not overlook the $1.4 million error with the 2003 budget that was found on the DOE website in 2004. The DOE said that they had caught Brennan's error, but somehow it didn't get changed on the website. So they must have caught it at the DOE after it was posted on the website? Anyway, add that in, and over an 8 year period, we are talking about nearly $4.5 million. Those are the ones that were caught. Can we assume that are more, and that some may not have been caught, and that it's closer to $10 million since we are only talking about 2004, 2012, and 2013? And did any of that money go out of the District never to returned? These are questions worth considering as well. Pandiscio was not at the helm in 2003, so he wasn't responsible for overpayment to the FLLAC Collaborative. But Brennan was as Comptroller at the time. And one wonders if the sloppy budget practices just carried over into the next administration. I would like to see what we paid into FLLAC in subsequent years because I caught that blaring error because SPED expenditures were a whooping 22% of the 2003 budget. Who was watching those expenditures? Which School Committee members were overseeing those expenditures at that time? Who was signing off on those expenditures before those numbers reached the DOE and got inputted into their system? Who were the chair and co-chair of the SC in 2003? Anyone know?
Forget all the rhetoric. Let’s stick with the facts.
The school committee made more than $3 Million in mistakes (this time – that we know about so far).
Peter Brennan resigned then he was fired.
Tom Pandiscio resigned then changed his mind and retired.
Senior school committee members Duncan Leith, Margaret Watson and Cindy Bazinet have repeatedly (year after year – time after time) failed to catch a single one of several huge financial mistakes, cost overruns and law suits yet they continually refuse to admit their mistakes / failures and resign.
School committee credibility (and any chance of getting increased funding) will remain at ZERO until Duncan Leith, Margaret Watson and Cindy Bazinet admit their failures, resign and quietly but quickly follow Mr. Brennan and Mr. Pandiscio out the door.
Interesting to read Deminimus Maximus’ comments about Tom Pandisciso.
Quote: “He should hang. Better yet he should be drawn and quartered after being tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. Any good he did in seven years of leading a successful district should be erased from memory. Go scalphunters! Now, who's next? My taste for blood is not sated.”
Wow, you don’t pull any punches do you Ms. Deminimus Maximus.
Satire: The use of ridicule, sarcasm, irony, etc., to expose, attack, or deride vices, follies, etc.
Where did you go to school, Mr. Ed?
And then you proceed to demand more resignations, as scheduled. Witch hunt back on.
As for Dr. Pandiscio, you are all so right (and righteous). Of course his departure and your reams of public vilification and speculation absent any evidence of malfeasance are not enough. He should hang. Better yet he should be drawn and quartered after being tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. Any good he did in seven years of leading a successful district should be erased from memory.
Go scalphunters!
Now, who's next? My taste for blood is not sated.
Time for a change- Actually, your analysis of his pension is not accurate. Whatever he will make per year (I am not agreeing with you at present that it will be $200,000 because I do not know what percentage of his salary he will receive), on top of that must be added the cost of the benefits he will receive every year like health insurance, dental, etc, for the rest of his life.
And yes: the joke truly is on us all, isn't it ?
By the way, and this is nothing against our public servants, the vast majority of whom are good, hard working people, but this is but one example of just how utterly unsustainable the growth in public employment (both iterms of the numbers of them and the rise in benefits and salaries) has become.
Just look to Stockton, Califorina.
What happened there is going to spread like wildfire across the country.
People say we are headed for Greece in America. I suggest we are not.
We are headed for a fiscal collapse that far surpasses Greece in its magnitude,
You can find out what his pension will be by calling the Massachusetts Teachers' Retirement System. It's public information. They have to give it to you. You can also find out if someone is pulling a pension at the same time they are doing a stint as an interim - which was being done on Long Island with superintendents and principals, and they were pulling half-million salaries. It was going on in Mass., too. The Boston Globe had an article about it by Ms. Tan. back around 2008. Since then, Mass. has tightened up the ship on pensions.
3 million in errors... Two sets of books... Moving money around without school committee approval.. Yelling at school committee members who questioned his role in the errors... And he gets to "retire" and draw a pension that will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 per year. Not bad for a person that led the ship while it hit the financial iceberg.. This captain goes down with the ship while taking home a giant pension. If he is 60 and lives to be 80, that is a 4 million dollar retirement pension. Couldn't we put that money into a fund to pay the 3 million in errors. Pandiscio's pension will be the gift that keeps on giving to the tax payers of the district..
Okay, it's time to drop the colloquialisms and the euphemisms; the allegation that there were or are two sets of books is a bald-faced lie. Period.
If everyone was reading from the same script then the only excuse for the "errors" would be that they were not "errors" but were totally intentional.
And from where did you find the information about the "neighborhood" of his pension, or are you just speculating?
Pardon my ignorance, but I would like to know that if the "checkbook being overdrawn" is just the fault of one person, then what exactly does the Finance Manager do at the Central Office?
On the Central Office website there is a Treasurer listed. Did the Treasurer know that the checkbook was overdrawn? What exactly does a Treasurer do that is needed in addition to a Finance Manager?
Do we really need a Superintendent, Business Manager, Treasurer and Finance Manager? How many people have access to said checkbook?
There are also three people listed as "Senior Accounting Secretary" at the central office. Do we really need all three? Can any of them also teach strings or chorus? Do any of these people see the check book? What exactly do these people do that is needed in addition to the other 8 people that are listed as "Administrative Assistant" in the Central Office?
Since the checkbook was overdrawn, how does this compute into per pupil spending?
Homestar,
A school committee representative from Princeton reported that they are hiring a strong business manager rather than a strong superintendent because they believe that there should not be too many changes to the "team" at this time. I know there are those out there who think that the whole team should be dismissed and there should be a fresh start but her logic did make some sense. They want to go in a direction where most of the district responsibility rests with the business manager. Therefore they should definitely change the salary structure and pay the business manager more than they pay the subordinate superintendent. It doesn't seem like they care to hire a superintendent with experience. It seems like they just want a jovial personality rather than actual skills, experience, or knowledge of the job. They think the people of our towns will buy their next budget because a nice guy presents it. I wonder how that will go next spring? They could direct that the business manager present the budgets to the towns. Are the management subcommittee meeting televised. These would be interesting.
Yes, amazing is it not but we consider cutting teachers first and really did lose a principle in Sterling.
Regarding my statement below, just because someone raised questions about him doesn't mean that Soojian has problems. He may be a perfectly fine choice, but he was associated with the District for years. Brian McDermott has been an assistant superintendent and business manager of Ayer Public Schools and superintendent of the Berlin-Boylston Schools. He pulled the Berlin-Boylston District up academically and otherwise to make Newsweek's Top 500 public schools in the US. He led during a time of disagreement over the building of a new middle/high school. He was well-liked and did a good job. My understanding is that he is not in a superintendent's role right now, and might consider it. Another was a very good interim Berlin-Boylston had after McDermott left - Michael DuBrule. He did a fine job and has over 30 years of experience in administration, special ed, etc. There are lots and lots of possibilities. Too late for former Westboro superintendent Dr. Stephen Dlott. He got snatched up as an interim by the Marlboro Schools for the year. But it might be worth talking a look at who else was in the running for those jobs and didn't get picked. There are so many interims out there to pick from that Wachusett shouldn't have a problem finding a good one.
Superintendent Paul Soojian To Retire From Leicester Schools
Headline from Daily Leicester
Right in our own backyard no less.
Wonder if he would be interested on an interim basis.
Probably meets what should be MINIMUM job recquirements.
Might even have a couple years of experience.
HMMM.....
Hmmmmm. He's the one the law enforcement official I spoke to raised questions about .... Hmmmmm. Interesting timing. Hmmmm.
To dwilliams and Maximus,
I couldn't help but notice how quick you are to condemn, demean and belittle others who are attempting to offer suggestions and come up with ways to improve the District while staunchly defending the status quo and offering nothing to help out. Just an observation. Do you think you could offer some thing substantive once and a while that might just help a little. Please.
joedell,
again, complete agreement. Everyone is watching the votes that these committee members make. It is the topic of conversation in every barber shop, coffee shop and neighborhood bus stop in the five towns. The town people want change. They don't want anymore insider politics and they sure as heck don't want any insider administrators with no experience as a superintendent being offered the job. Didn't we just experience this? Their last hire had no experience going in and couldn't really figure it out which eventually led to a big error. Can we please get someone with experience this time around? Is that too much to ask for a six figure salary on the taxpayers dime?
There is a proposal being floated to remove K-8 from the District. Each town would be responsible for their elementary and middle schools. Perhaps now is the time to think this through carefully before we lock into a contract with another superintendent. I guess you would still need a superintendent for the high school in that scenario, and maybe for Holden because of the number of schools, but an interim should be able to handle it just fine. Berlin has had two excellent interims - a principal and superintendent. They were so seasoned that it seemed like they had been in the Berlin District for awhile. It's a great way to transition until you settle on the person who everyone agrees is a good fit long-term for the job. I remember when Tutela stepped down and Pandiscio stepped up to the plate and addressed the school committee and proposed that he take over the District because he was needed for a difficult transition and knew the District well.... I also remember in a conversation with him that he told me the District was too big for one superintendent to handle. So what have we learned from this?
It is truly interesting that so many folks fall back to proper procedures for this, that and the other thing, the last bulwark against meaningful change, when all that had to happen in the first place was use proper procedures and practices.
Yeah, that whole having to follow the laws thing is so, well, quaint, isn't it?
The school district has a golden opportunity here that the school committee should be wise enough not to squander. They have the chance to hire someone for an interim position who could help them to make a well informed choice about what skills are needed in the next superintendent. To do this, they should hire a person who has had experience as a superintendent who is capable of coming in and assessing the current conditions of the district. Hiring a former banker, turned school principal is not the way to go no matter how likable the gentleman is. You do not give the most seriously damaged patient to the doctor who has never done the operation before and you should not turn over the reins of a very broken district to a beginner. I urge all of the members of the Wachusett Regional School Committee to reach out to an organization that can help them find a competent and successful retired superintendent to fill the interim position giving preference to a candidate who is willing to make some assessment of the condition of the district prior to the hiring of the next superintendent. This will serve the committee well. It will serve the people well. It will set up the next full time superintendent for success rather than continued distrust. I urge the committee to do better than accepting the most available local interim who may not be the best person for the job. Do better for the kids. Please.
Oh, to be looking for a supremely qualified but out-of-work superintendent now that the second week of September is here.
Retirees do this work in many other districts when someone leaves unexpectedly. It is rather common these days and the school committee could probably get a list of more than a dozen former superintendents willing to work on a short term basis to help a district in need. They are very unbiased because they are not competing to keep the job. They come in just to keep the district going and provide their expert lens on things. I, for one, would like an outside set of eyes on everything that's going on in this school district. Hiring the inside guy with everything that's happened seems completely absurd at this point. If the school committee takes the "insider" (and then probably hires the other insider, Darryll) that will be ample evidence of what a joke of a rubber stamp this school committee actually is. This is their one chance to actually do the right thing and reject the inside track decisions that have not served our communities well. It is time for some change, at least a little. The good old insiders are not good enough any more.
Very thoughtful and well said, Kudos
The problem was and is Brennan. He was never qualified for the job (no accounting background or degree), local boy with not too must upstairs, beyond me how he got the job. The audit is required and will bring to light some interesting findings.
Maximus asks, "Is this a joke?" After your school committee threw Dr.P. overboard last night, guess the joke is on you and your cronies. Just the tip of the iceberg? This whole committee of Pandiscio-trusting incompetents has to also go. When will the vilified Mr. Brennan speak up with the real sordid story?
To Pat Henry
Peter is probably trying to finalize the book agreement. He is probably stuck on what category to publish it in, Docudrama or Horror....
I vote for horror cuz it sure does raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
Can't wait for Pat Henry to publish his list of "Pandiscio-trusting incompetents" who must go so that we might compare his names with the infamous list drawn up by Mr. Ed.
Two scalps are most definitely not enough. Let's hope the community is savvy enough to reject the scorched earth district-wide destruction that Pat Henry is salivating for.
D williams.. It takes more courage than the good Dr. Has shown.. His years of bullying students, parents, and employees is finally about to end. Have you talked to any of teachers that work for him? He threatens them with termination if any of them speak or step out of line. He is not a good man and he is VERY replaceable. It is a moot point, because we are finally free from his reign.
You still refuse to come forth with so much as a scintilla of evidence (let alone proof) of corruption or criminality. We should thus assume there is none.
All that's ever been demonstrated is that he failed to catch Peter Brennan's errors and that he's been rude. On the other hand, he helped bring this district some of the highest assessment scores in the Commonwealth at the lowest per pupil cost of any regional school district, and solidfied the WRSD's tremendous reputation.
For good or for ill, Thomas Pandiscio did not suffer fools gladly. He ruffled feathers (many of which needed ruffling), and for that you and your cronies have seen to it that this sorry state of affairs resulted in his resignation/retirement.
What a shame that this mob mentality won the day; it's the kids who will suffer.
dwilliams,
There are 2.7 million scintillas.
Now if we could skin them and sell the pelts, well maybe we could eliminate the deficit....
By that you are saying the $2.7 million of budgeting errors are in and of themselves evidence of criminality and corruption. Is that right?
dwilliams, you and Maximus are the ones that continually bring up "criminality and corruption" while mostly eveyone else speaks of openess, accountability, clearing the air and paths forward, concepts that you resist vehemently by deflection, belittling and attempting to put words in others mouths. Why?
No they're scintillas.
Dr. Pandiscio made the smart move. He may also have saved the SC from further embarassment. He read the writing on the wall and decided it would be better to go out on top. Regardless of wether money was "missing" or a "crime" was committed the fact remains that money was mishandled, this has been publicly admitted to by Dr. Pandiscio himself. Call it what you will, "mistake" or any term of your choosing, the fact remains that money was not handled properly. We can all blame Mr. Brennan but the ultimate responsibility still lies at Dr. Pandiscio's doorstep. His cute maneuver to allow Mr. Brennan to answer to the SC did not absolve him of his duties as Superintendent. His relationship with the districts auditors, as evidenced by his independant contact with them regarding the movement of monies within the budget when "things hit the fan", made him privy to what would probably be discovered by an independent audit. The SC vote on a "forensic" or any other audit could very well be a moot point. Numerous State agencies have been made aware of irregularities in the finacial matters of the WRSD. They most likely would allow the audit to be decided upon locally but failing that would only serve to further pique thier curiosity. Joy should not be taken in Mr. Brennan's or Dr. Pandiscio's departures as they both point to weaknesses within the WRSD, weaknesses that should be eliminated now that they are plainly exposed if the SC and the voters take full advantage.
joedell,
completely agree with you on every point. The committee needs some perspective on the weaknesses of the school district which is why I am advocating for hiring an interim person who is a retired superintendent who can offer some assessment of all of the major areas of the school district. The school committee is "interviewing" an insider who is a current principal (and there is no mention that he has ever worked at a district level in a school district). I wonder what they are hoping will come of this arrangement except more of the same faulty practices. Can we please get somebody who has some experience running a school system well? Is that too much to ask for the kids in our town? We have a neighborhood full of people who are on the verge of launching at the present school committee if they fail us in these hiring decisions. I for one would like the nonsense to stop and some good undistracted work to begin.
Those weaknesses go way back, Joe. When Dr. Tutela was being considered for the position of superintendent, there were three candidates. One candidate's child received a phone call that said "Tell your Dad not to take this job," according to the Worcester T&G. A similar anonymous package arrived at the house later. That candidate dropped out of the running, leaving only two, and Dr. Tutela got the job. He was leaving behind a mess in Cleveland, where he apparently received a $300,000 payment from the school district to release him from his duties after he threatened a million dollar lawsuit against them. The Cleveland Plain Dealer called him a "Junkyard Dog" in an editorial. The Cleveland job had devolved upon him after the former superintendent committed suicide. So there should have been considerable concerns about his administrative capabilities when he arrived in Holden. At the very least, one wonders if Pandiscio inherited a "mess" while making a "mess" of his own, as he himself called the present situation. Which brings me to the next point. Can the present school committee choose wisely with the next superintendent and not just allow the interim to fill the shoes? I know there isn't a lot of money in the till, but this district deserves a bona fide search for the best candidate, and those school committee members who have been involved in past searches should not be involved.
I agree. Are there other school committees who never do a search to find a superintendent but instead look for a veteran among the principals to take the big chair? Is this 1955? Something is definitely wrong here. The school's place nationwide ads to find teachers, even substitute teachers, on www.schoolspring.com but we don't even bother to put out a feeler for who might be interested in serving as an interim superintendent? It doesn't cost anything, our tax dollars are already paying for the School Spring Why not use it to fill the big chair too? Is it more important to search for good teachers than it is to find a good superintendent? It is amazing how many things a committee of supposedly intelligent can get wrong over and over again. Sad days in HPPRS.
The search committee should be made up of two people from each town, not affiliated in any way with the School Committee, appointed by the Selectboards of each town. The "ongoing investigation" will certainly not be concluded by the time the new Superintendent needs to be in place. Until the "ongoing investigation" is completed it is not clear what role, if any, current members of the school committee may or may not have had relative to the current situation. The individual Selectboards should have a free hand in determining what criteria they will use in selecting the folks that they wish to have on this search committee thereby ensuring that bias and relationship issues are kept to an absolute minimum. This will aid in a fair and complete evaluation of all candidates. The appointing authority should then be made up of two members of each Selectboard. This provides the optimum representation of the people in each town.
Is this a joke?
You don't know how these boards are supposed to work? You don't know that one is not subservient to the other?
Select boards can ensure that there is no bias?
And once again you imply that school committee members are tainted by ... what? Peter Brennan's mistakes?
This has to be a joke.
I do know how this board has been functioning; thats why I made the suggestion.
You wanted the superintendent gone and he's going. Now the process of replacing him belongs to the school committee. That's the way it works. You wanted it, you got it. Can't just up and change the rules.
Maximus,
You seem to know a lot about replacing the superintendent. Why isn't the committee looking for someone who has a proven track record on the job as a superintendent, a retired superintendent for example? My understanding is that there are interim retired superintendents at work in at least 10 district in Massachusetts right now. I don't think it is a good idea to put this district into the hands of an insider and a beginner at the job. Things are in rough shape and the communities need someone they can have confidence in. The suggestions that are out there just don't pass the litmus test of being smart. Do you have thoughts on this?
joedell, I do not understand how you believe that any select board in any town should be involved with the selection of the superintendent? Should the School Committee be involved with the hiring of a town manager?
Remember the school committee members are "elected" in their representative towns, by the same people that elect boards of selectmen. So why is it that the school committee representatives should take a back seat to the select boards?
Dave ordinarily I would agree wholeheartedly, but for the reasons stated above this should be treated somewhat differently. I personally would have mixed feelings about undergoing any medical procedure being performed by a doctor whose past actions are clouded and up for potential review. I chose selectboard as an alternate because of thier role in governing a community as a whole. Whereas the tendancy to promote from within is an admirable attribute it should be done with great caution so as to not cut oneself off from other possibly better choices. Until this whole thing is completely aired out any decisions made by the school committee should be met with a dose of scepticism. But again that was offered up as a suggestion. Maybe it isn't perfect(most likely) but should be looked at as a first option in the I hope ensuing discussions.
This post reminds me of an old George Carlin character who said, "I call it as I see it. And if I don't see it, I make it up."
You can't just make up a new process because you don't like the current one. There are those little problems of Massachusetts General Laws, town and RSD bylaws, and annoying stuff like that.