Top school administrators are forced aside, but the board isn't saying why.
William Hamilton (right), assistant superintendent for business and finance, talks about his suspension from the Jordan-Elbridge School District. Former district treasurer Anthony Scro (left) was fired by the district.Staff writers
They’re not playing musical chairs in the Jordan-Elbridge kindergarten. That’s going on at the top levels of the school leadership.
At least six of the nine top administrators in the district are on the move. Three have been suspended or moved into less-important jobs. The superintendent is leaving before her contract ends — forced out by the school board, say two officials. The athletic director will retire midyear.
And, in a district trying to cope with declining enrollment and money, two administrators — each with a salary of more than $100,000 — are being paid not to work.
High school Principal David Zehner was suspended with pay Monday. The board will decide what to do next at its Oct. 6 meeting.
He said he was told to turn in his identification, keys and Blackberry and leave, without hearing the allegations against him. As of Wednesday, he had not been allowed back into the building to collect his personal belongings.
He is one of several key school officials shuffling around — or out:
• William Hamilton, assistant superintendent for business and finance, was put on paid administrative leave in July.
• Anthony Scro, district treasurer, was fired Sept. 9.
• Janice Schue, former principal at Elbridge Elementary, moved to a new position in the district office as special projects administrator last year. She fought the move and lost.
Marilyn Dominick• Marilyn Dominick, the superintendent, will retire Nov. 1 even though her contract runs until June 2012. Zehner, in his lawsuit against the district, says her departure is not voluntary. She would not comment.
The district is losing two other administrators: Bruce Walters, transportation director, has retired, and Brad Hamer, athletic director and the head of the union that represents district administrators, leaves Feb. 28.
The shakeup comes in the midst of the district’s $22 million building project.
Parents and taxpayers called The Post-Standard, commented online and flooded Facebook Wednesday about the turmoil at their schools. Teachers, unwilling to be identified publicly for fear of retaliation, talked about being kept in the dark and demoralized.
Dominick, who is fielding reporters’ questions, and board President Mary Alley said they could not comment on personnel matters. Alley, in a phone message, said, “Hopefully we can get through this. I have all the confidence in our board and administration that we can do this.”
David ZehnerBoth Zehner and Hamilton are suing the district. In his Aug. 24 suit, Zehner, taking his bosses to court, said the board picked an interim replacement for Dominick in private July 21, violating the state open meetings law.
The suspensions of Hamilton and Zehner and the firing of Scro also were not approved at a public board meeting, according to lawyer Dennis O’Hara, who represents all three.
Dominick said the board has not met since the actions against Zehner and Scro. She could not explain why Hamilton’s disciplinary action was not recorded in the minutes of the board’s July 7 meeting.
The board held three special meetings in a month at the end of last school year. In one, on June 7, the board said the Pledge of Allegiance, went into private session for 58 minutes and then emerged, with Alley reading this:
“The Jordan-Elbridge School District is out of compliance with certain policies, procedures and laws. The board does not agree with how the district is handling specific issues. The board does not agree with, nor does it condone, certain actions that are retaliatory in nature against its employees. If retaliation does not stop, the board will consider taking further action with the state comptroller or attorney general.”
Dominick, when asked Wednesday about that, said, “I have no idea what they’re talking about,” even though she said she was in the private session when the board discussed the matter. She said she can’t reveal what goes on behind closed doors.
Scro said he was fired after he raised questions about improprieties on job performance reviews by the district. He was accused of making personal attacks, even though he raised the criticisms with his supervisors, he said.
The district is retaliating against some administrators for criticizing the district’s lawyer, according to Hamilton, the assistant superintendent for business and finance. Hamilton was suspended in July, days after he submitted a memo questioning the billing practices of lawyer Daniel Mevec.
Mevec did not respond to messages left at his office.
Hamilton, who is tenured, is suing the district over his suspension.
“I questioned the hours, and said they were excessive,” Hamilton said. Among the billings: four to six hours for a lawyer to go to the town hall to get a record, Hamilton said.
Dominick issued reprimands to Hamilton in an e-mail in June, but she told him she was directed by the board to do it, he said. Dominick sent an e-mail to Mevec questioning whether the reprimand was appropriate.
“I’m not really comfortable putting my name to something I know so little about,” Dominick’s e-mail said.
Dominick herself is leaving two years earlier than her contract called for. She told Hamilton “it was not my choice” to go, he said.
--Contact John Stith at jstith@syracuse.com or 251-5718.