In a meeting filled with accusations and harsh criticism of school directors, the Scranton School Board on Monday accepted the resignation of Superintendent William King.
Targeted for termination by members of the board’s majority, Mr. King will continue to serve as superintendent until Oct. 1. The district will pay Mr. King a severance of one year’s salary, or about $146,000, as part of his resignation.
“This is a shame this is happening,” board President Kathleen McGuigan, a member of the minority, said about Mr. King. She then read a statement that accused members of the majority of nepotism, harassment, interfering in daily district operations and inappropriate communication with the teachers union.
“The decisions that this board continues to make regarding staffing, programming, grievances and the spending of taxpayer money do not align with what is best for the students and the taxpayers,” she said. “I call again for all members of this board to put personal agendas aside and put the children and taxpayers of the Scranton School District first.”
Mr. King’s resignation comes at a time of uncertainty and upheaval in the district, as the board factions continue to divide. Harassment and interference by board members were blamed for the resignations of two top administrators last week, and the board now has those positions, plus superintendent, to fill.
Mr. King, who has served as superintendent since 2009, was an unsuccessful finalist for a superintendent’s job in the Lehigh Valley earlier this year. He was also the subject of a board investigation into a complaint made by a female employee. The investigation was completed in March.
In May, the board majority held an executive session where directors agreed to suspend Mr. King. Without a public vote, they failed to make the suspension official. Since then, Mr. King and the board have been in negotiations for him to leave. His contract runs through 2018. His resignation was approved 8-1, with Director Kyle Donahue dissenting.
“Once again we’re losing a valuable asset to this district,” Vice President Mark McAndrew said. “I didn’t come on this board to destroy careers.”
Efforts to reach Mr. King, who did not attend Monday’s meeting, were unsuccessful. At his home, his wife said the family had no comment.
Directors have not revealed how they will fill the position. After Oct. 1, Mr. King will stay on to help with the transition, at a rate of $2,000 a month. Members of the board majority refuse to discuss Mr. King’s departure, citing personnel issues.
In Mrs. McGuigan’s prepared statement, which she read at the end of the meeting, she accused members of the majority of engaging in “unilateral decision making outside the board room.”
She questioned the qualifications and salaries of recent hires and said school directors engage in inappropriate conversations with union leadership, including discussing union grievances, contract negotiations and personnel issues.
Rosemary Boland, president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers, said after the meeting that she answers to her 900 union members, not Mrs. McGuigan.
“I think Mrs. McGuigan probably has a piece of sand caught under her dentures tonight. I think she’s just taking it out that she does not have a board majority,” Ms. Boland said.
Also in her statement, Mrs. McGuigan accused Director Lyn Ruane of nepotism. When the board recently hired Ms. Ruane’s first cousin as a clerk, she did not abstain or reveal the relationship — requirements of the district’s anti-nepotism policy, Mrs. McGuigan said. Efforts to reach Ms. Ruane after the meeting were unsuccessful.
Mrs. McGuigan also accused Director Cy Douaihy of pressuring principals to buy unneeded textbooks, when teachers said they were not going to be used. Last fall, Mr. Douaihy questioned why some South Scranton Intermediate School students do not have their own books to take home.
Mr. Douaihy, the only director to speak out against Mrs. McGuigan’s statement during the meeting, called her criticisms inaccurate.
“Your lack of leadership in that seat has been astonishing,” he told her.
After the meeting, Mrs. McGuigan questioned how the district would afford Mr. King’s severance pay. The district faces a deficit of at least $3.8 million for 2015 and may be forced to raise taxes or furlough teachers and cut programs.
Also during Monday’s special personnel meeting, the board officially accepted the resignation of Jessica Leitzel Aquilina, the district’s elementary education supervisor, who was hired by the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit last week.
“You are another one of our dominoes,” Mrs. McGuigan told her, fearful that more administrators could soon resign. Last week, the board accepted the resignation of Christopher Mazzino, director of curriculum and instruction. Also Monday, the board hired 20 students for part-time summer employment. The students will work for four hours a day, four days a week, at $7.25 an hour. The vote comes after a Times-Tribune investigation last year found the jobs were never voted on or advertised and were often given out by school directors. Jobs were advertised in the district’s high schools this year.
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter
William King bio
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Millersville University, master’s degree from the University of Scranton,
superintendent certificate from Temple University
Experience: Principal, West Scranton High and South
Scranton Intermediate schools, assistant superintendent from 2004 to 2008. Became superintendent in 2009, after acting in an interim role. In August 2012, the board granted him another contract, through 2018.