Details Surrounding Former Top School Officials' Departures Uncertain
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It remains unclear what prompted two former high-ranking school officials transferred by Superintendent S. Dallas Dance to leave their reassigned positions.
Patch readers questioned if Assistant Superintendent of the Department of Human Resources Don Peccia, who was reassigned to a teaching job, and former Chief Communications Officer Phyllis Reese, who was transferred to distributions, were given payouts to respectively retire and resign from their new positions.
"Okay, so the real question with this: How much did it cost to get them to resign? I know this wasn't done for free. And don't let them tell you "we won't comment; it's a [personnel] matter," a Patch commenter who identified himself as Matthew wrote in the blog post announcing the departures.
When asked if payouts were offered, Board of Education President Larry Schmidt declined to comment Thursday afternoon.
"I actually got a call into the attorney's office to see if I can talk about that," Schmidt said.
Typically, compensation paid to school system and government employees is public record.
As first reported by The Baltimore Sun, the school board voted to approve the resignation and retirement, effective Aug. 1, at a Tuesday night meeting.
Patch previously reported that Peccia and Reese were set to begin their new assignments on July 11. Schmidt said it is his understanding that both had started working in the positions. Calls to the school system's media relations office to confirm this were not immediately returned.
Had the two stayed in their less-prestigious posts, Peccia would have made $158,652 annually as a social studies teacher at Woodlawn High School until his three-year contract expired on June 30, 2014, and Reese was slated to make $142,549 as a copy and print specialist before her two-year contract ended on June 13, 2013.
M. Sullivan
2:35 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
These two made some pretty good money for fairly worthless bureaucratic positions. They were actually more useful in their new jobs!
moe green
3:11 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
They are being paid with tax dollars. It is our money. Schmidt and dance are hiding something
Gomer Pyle
3:20 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Reese should apply for a job at Kinko's and see if they will match her salary. $142,549/yr as a copy and print specialist? I'll do it for half of that!!!!
Joe
3:34 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
"$142,549 as a copy and print specialist " ??????? No wonder we are broke and the pension systems are underfunded and it is bankrupting cities.
Matthew
4:55 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Glad this is being pursued. There should be no issues finding out if compensation was given to a public schools employee. Should be entirely covered by the PIA.
And the real reason this needs to be questioned: Why wasn't this matter pursued in regards to voiding the contracts in their entirety? An expenditure of this magnitude needs approval of the board, correct? Furthermore, what statutory authority did Papa Joe Hairston have to offer these contracts anyway?
Just wondering why this school board is so willing to part with my tax money. And as a public school teacher, it bothers me that much more.
Nayana Davis
5:10 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Matthew,
I reported a few weeks ago that Schmidt said he was consulting legal counsel on whether the "documents"—his words—were valid. Check that out here: http://patch.com/B-cf5S. I'll see if he can tell me more next time we chat.
Matthew
5:17 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Nayana, you are doing a great job tracking the school system/news and keeping the public informed while holding them accountable.
Here's the issue, if the contracts (and they are contracts, as they are written agreements that two parties do something respectively) weren't valid, then we just paid these two off for nothing. Why not wait and find out? If they found out that the documents were valid, which seems likely if they bought them both out, under what premise were these backroom deals binding?
JD1
11:00 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012
Does it bother anyone else that Peccia's "punishment" or "incentive to leave" was to send him to a Baltimore County HS? Woodlawn has struggled for year's after being sent a sea of excessed and poorly qualified new teachers. Why are we using schools as dumping grounds? Why aren't some of the best teachers being sent, with compensation, to our neediest schools? Until this starts to happen, it's business as usual in Baltimore County. Let's see if DD can man up and make some real bold change to help out kids - a Facebook page, twitter updates and architectural plans are a load of BS and a pretty smoke screen to cover up what's really happening in our most challenging schools.
Matthew
6:57 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
To answer your first question, yes, it did bother me. To think that Peccia would wind up in a classroom was scary, and to think that it was a punishment was downright awful.
I agree with you about the changes as well; all a shell game thus far.
mommaof sy
7:14 am on Friday, August 10, 2012
Unfortunately, it is politics, as usual. Incompetent teachers (and administrators) are moved around instead of being let go. And the persons at the top are being paid double and triple what the teachers are. It is refreshing to see changes from DD and I am hopeful that he will be able to clean up and listen to the teachers (me) and allow us to do what we do best, teach! The students need us now more than ever.
Evets
10:26 pm on Friday, August 10, 2012
Balto. County pays $150,000 total to two former school employees
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-co-hairston-contracts-20120810,0,6459347.story
Ron Burgundy
1:20 pm on Saturday, August 11, 2012
Where's the wonderful Meg O'Hare been lately, she's been awfully silent. This was her man, Joe (special contract) Harriston. When will you chime in Miss "watchdog"?
Your silence is deafening.