June 25, 2011
Can We Please Deduct $142,000 from East Providence's State Aid for the Next Two Years?
It's already a lot that we send money for the salaries of municipal and school staffers who actually, you know, come in and work. To send money for someone to involuntarily "sit home, eating ice cream sandwiches" for absolutely no reason is a bit much.
The East Providence School Committee decided to keep School Superintendent Mario Cirillo on paid administrative leave in a split vote Tuesday night. ...School committee chairman Charles Tsonos had a statement explaining his stance behind continuing the paid leave.
"In supporting the motion to continue the superintendent on administrative leave, I believe that we need to set a new course to constructively address the difficult and unresolved issues that lie ahead for our schools,” reads a portion of the statement.
Actually, Mr. Cirillo had worked hard and quite effectively for the East Providence school system during very difficult times recently. So that's clearly not a reason to bench him.
In fact, what is happening is that certain members of the new school committee view Mr. Cirillo as anathama to their masters (whose contract will soon need to be re-negotiated, by the way) and, in a very strange kind of political pay-back, are getting rid of him any way they have to. No matter the cost to the taxpayer or the effect on EP schools.
Most municipalities eschew no-show jobs. Those (few if any) that surreptitiously hand them out do so to political supporters. How absurd and wasteful that the EP School Committee is giving a no-show job to a political opponent -- at everyone else's expense, to boot.
Thank you for posting this transparent political move in East Prov. Lawson and her crew,Crowley, Leidecker (NEARI) carpet-bombed the prior SC out of office. The superintendent was holding teachers accountable, putting student needs first and so, upset their little job-factory for the friends and family of the political insiders in that city.
Nothing strange about political pay-back-unions put this committee in and now they expect that committee to deliver.
It will indeed be interesting to see the outcome of contract negotiations-perhaps they'll drive the deficit higher by literally paying back the union via taxpayer dollars. Well, if they do then any smart resident should demand that Paul Moura cover the tab.
By the way, what was Moura doing inside the entrance to the House Floor during budget session on Friday night, flailing his arms and conversing with Charlene Lima during debate over longevity payments?
Posted by: Lee at June 26, 2011 12:38 AMInteresting tableau, Lee. Rep Lima went "rogue" a couple of years ago ... well, rogue by GA standards. So I wonder if she was disagreeing with Paul Moura or just listening sympathetically?
Posted by: Monique at June 26, 2011 5:14 PM