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Log inBurlington wants money back or Gendron out
Burlington wants money back or Gendron out
by Outspoken on Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:24 am
Burlington wants money back or Gendron out
By Nick Sambides Jr.
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BURLINGTON, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci should seek the resignation of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron if she cannot compel SAD 31 board member Bruce Hallett to return $17,152.50 earned illegally as a school renovation liaison.
That was the opinion an impatient Board of Selectmen released this week in a letter to the editors of several newspapers, the latest and most brazen board attempt to pressure Gendron to act on promises made in early November.
Signed by Selectmen Dennis Kingman, Beth Turner and Clarence Bearce, the letter states in its closing paragraph that by failing to act, Gendron "will have compromised her credibility and authority and lost her ability to govern effectively."
"Precedence will have been set and all districts and school superintendents in the state will receive the message loudly and clearly. They are free to violate state law with impunity," the letter continues. "The next time a situation arises (and it will) when this Education Commissioner issues a ruling the response will be ‘ignore her and she will go away.’
"Should this happen the only reasonable way to restore the position of Education Commissioner in the State of Maine would be for Gov. Baldacci to request her resignation," it concludes.
SAD 31 Superintendent Jerry White hired Hallett, who represents Howland on the school board, as a liaison on a $3.9 million renovation of Penobscot Valley High School and the interconnected Hichborn Middle School.
According to school records, Hallett earned the money he was paid by working about 475 hours from June 29 to Oct. 11, 2007, as a liaison to Bowman Bros. Inc., the general contractor overseeing the renovation.
Apparently it was an unprecedented violation of a state law designed to prevent corruption and guarantee board sovereignty.
In a letter written to Hallett and the school board in November, Gendron sought the money’s return from Hallett.
She quoted a section of state law banning school board members from volunteering or getting paid for work for school systems "when that volunteer has primary responsibility for a curricular, co-curricular or extracurricular program or activity and reports directly to the superintendent, principal, athletic director or other school administrator in a public school within the jurisdiction of the school board to which the member is elected ..."
It remains unclear whether an additional 500 hours Hallett worked as a volunteer after being told to stop working for pay also violated the law.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=168508&zoneid=500
By Nick Sambides Jr.
Staff Writer Bangor Daily News
BURLINGTON, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci should seek the resignation of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron if she cannot compel SAD 31 board member Bruce Hallett to return $17,152.50 earned illegally as a school renovation liaison.
That was the opinion an impatient Board of Selectmen released this week in a letter to the editors of several newspapers, the latest and most brazen board attempt to pressure Gendron to act on promises made in early November.
Signed by Selectmen Dennis Kingman, Beth Turner and Clarence Bearce, the letter states in its closing paragraph that by failing to act, Gendron "will have compromised her credibility and authority and lost her ability to govern effectively."
"Precedence will have been set and all districts and school superintendents in the state will receive the message loudly and clearly. They are free to violate state law with impunity," the letter continues. "The next time a situation arises (and it will) when this Education Commissioner issues a ruling the response will be ‘ignore her and she will go away.’
"Should this happen the only reasonable way to restore the position of Education Commissioner in the State of Maine would be for Gov. Baldacci to request her resignation," it concludes.
SAD 31 Superintendent Jerry White hired Hallett, who represents Howland on the school board, as a liaison on a $3.9 million renovation of Penobscot Valley High School and the interconnected Hichborn Middle School.
According to school records, Hallett earned the money he was paid by working about 475 hours from June 29 to Oct. 11, 2007, as a liaison to Bowman Bros. Inc., the general contractor overseeing the renovation.
Apparently it was an unprecedented violation of a state law designed to prevent corruption and guarantee board sovereignty.
In a letter written to Hallett and the school board in November, Gendron sought the money’s return from Hallett.
She quoted a section of state law banning school board members from volunteering or getting paid for work for school systems "when that volunteer has primary responsibility for a curricular, co-curricular or extracurricular program or activity and reports directly to the superintendent, principal, athletic director or other school administrator in a public school within the jurisdiction of the school board to which the member is elected ..."
It remains unclear whether an additional 500 hours Hallett worked as a volunteer after being told to stop working for pay also violated the law.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=168508&zoneid=500
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
