Superintendent's Contract (Again)

In late September when the BOE originally extended the Superintendent's contract and gave him a raise I asked the Democratic Town Chairman and the Maturo campaign to comment. Gene Ruocco graciously responded quickly. I have yet to hear from the Maturo campaign. Here is Gene's response.

I did not think the action that was taken on November 9, 2009 by then Chairwomen Vitali was the right thing to do for the town and I feel the same to the action taken on September 27, 2011 by the Board under Chairman Palladino. I strongly feel a month before an election for the top administrator in our town is not the time for any department head to ask for an extension. That request should not have been on the agenda just before the election. I strongly feel all Department Heads should turn in a letter of resignation every time there is a change in town administration. The New Mayor should have the right to decide if a Department Head has served well enough to stay on or go. Last night’s action has disrespected the office of Mayor, in my opinion. Mr. Serio has gotten into a habit of asking for his extensions at the wrong time and this should end for the good of East Haven with the hiring of a New Superintendent, when ever that takes place.

As far as board members joining with opposite parties, I think as long as every action is in the best interest of the system that is what should take place. The action taken last night was something else, so again in my opinion a chance to show the people of our town that the right thing was done has been wasted.

Marilyn responded in the edition of EH News that we recorded late last week regarding the November 2009 extension. The extension was demanded by Superintendent Serio in order to accomplish the reorganization of Central Office. Since the reorganization needed the Superintendent's recommendation it boiled down to a political tradeoff to get what the Board wanted. It was not something anyone was jumping for joy over. I certainly wasn't.

EH News 10/13/2011

Last week Marilyn Vitale and I went into the studio to produce the latest edition of EH News. Not surprisingly the biggest topic of discussion was the outrageous vote by the Board of Education to extend Superintendent Serio's contract and give him a raise. In light of the disastrous test scores such largess would seem strange. However, as Marilyn pointed out there are significant conflicts of interest on the BOE. Half of those voting to give the Superintendent a raise have spouses or children working in the school system. Such favoritism with our money cannot continue. I noted the long period of wage stagnation of the average American and how the salary and career opportunities have stayed flat over the last several decades.

The only way out of the economic doldrums is through education or being born to wealthy parents. The largest growth in income occurred for those at the higher end of the educational ladder. As jobs have disappeared due to outsourcing, off shoring and computerization the best chance for today's students and tomorrow's workers is getting the best education as possible. The BOE decided, instead, to reward failing test scores. They put their monetary and political gains ahead of the students they were elected to serve. Remember that when you go to the polls on November 8th.