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Photos by John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
MORE Coverage: HOCKEY TEAMS at Deering and Portland high schools scramble to make up for cuts in their budgets this year. See story here
Staff Writer
- Read Superintendent O’Connor’s written statement on why she resigned
- Read Superintendent O'Connor's separation agreement reached with the Portland School Committee
The Portland School Committee unanimously accepted Superintendent Mary Jo O'Connor's resignation on Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation over whether she would be held accountable for the School Department's ongoing financial troubles.
O'Connor's resignation will be effective Dec. 28, reflecting a requirement in her contract that she give the committee 120 days notice before leaving her job, said John Coyne, committee chairman.
O'Connor's severance package will include two additional months of regular pay, plus any accrued sick and vacation pay, bringing the total cost of O'Connor's resignation settlement to $80,000. O'Connor's annual salary was $112,000.
Under the settlement agreement, the School Committee will determine O'Connor's future duties and how long she will continue to work, Coyne said. The committee may appoint an interim superintendent before O'Connor's resignation becomes effective.
Coyne said he hopes to have an interim superintendent in place as soon as possible and conduct a national search for O'Connor's replacement.
Committee members and others welcomed O'Connor's resignation as a necessary step in addressing the district's financial troubles and rebuilding credibility in the management of Portland schools.
"For all the good she did for this district educationally, the financial problems happened on her watch and it's disrupting the district," Coyne said after the meeting at Portland Arts and Technology High School.
"It's time to move on and get into a different realm," he said. "We need to be more fiscally responsible and we need a new person for that."
City Councilors who have been working with O'Connor on budget matters agreed.
"The public has made clear that we need to be moving forward," Councilor James Cohen said outside the meeting. "It is nearly unanimous in opinion among everyone that I've talked to that they wanted the superintendent to step down. We need to tell the public that we understand the problem and we're going to fix it."
Robert O'Brien, a committee member, said the settlement agreement allows the school district to avoid a long and potentially costly legal proceeding if it had decided to fire O'Connor based on a yet-to-be-completed investigation into the department's financial management.
The law and O'Connor's contract, which runs through June 30, 2010, require the committee to investigate, find cause and give due notice before dismissing her.
Throughout the meeting, O'Connor smiled, took minutes and answered questions about personnel appointments. O'Connor, who is 58 and lives in Gorham, declined to comment on her pending departure.
City finance officials announced on Wednesday that the School Department deficit is about $1.7 million, with an accounting of grant funding still incomplete.
The committee's action culminates four months of controversy over a deficit in the $82 million school budget that ended June 30.
In July, school officials announced that they expected a $2.5 million deficit, a figure that had grown from a $500,000 projection in May.
City finance officials took over the school finance office on Aug. 2, after School Finance Director Richard Paulson resigned and O'Connor admitted her lack of financial expertise.
Finances weren't the focus of the School Committee's concerns when O'Connor became superintendent six years ago.
At the time, she was the district's curriculum director and had never worked as a superintendent or assistant superintendent.
Back then, committee members said they liked her pitch for...
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