Superintendent candidate forum pushed back

Matt Bower
Posted 4/9/15

The public superintendent candidate forum that had been tentatively scheduled for April 28 has now been pushed back. The School Committee plans to use questions taken from a community survey to pose …

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Superintendent candidate forum pushed back

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The public superintendent candidate forum that had been tentatively scheduled for April 28 has now been pushed back. The School Committee plans to use questions taken from a community survey to pose to remaining candidates, allowing all stakeholders of the community to have a voice in deciding who will lead the district over the next three years.

Reached by phone yesterday, School Committee Vice Chairman Eugene Nadeau said the meeting has been pushed back because he is unable to attend on April 28 due to a personal matter.

“I have a problem attending on April 28,” he said. “I hope we can set another date at our [School Committee] meeting on the 14th [of April].”

Nadeau said moving the meeting had nothing to do with waiting for the completion of the investigation by attorney Vincent Ragosta, who was recently hired by the School Committee to look into whether or not the administration appropriately handled an incident involving Gorton science teacher Mario Atoyan, who was recently suspended without pay after the Attorney General released a secret, sealed indictment from the Washington County Grand Jury charging him with first-degree and second-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old female relative in an incident that allegedly took place June 19, 2014.

Atoyan, 49, reportedly drew a penis on the arm or hand of one female student and feces on the arm or hand of another female student in an alleged incident approximately 18 months ago. When the incident became known and Superintendent Richard D’Agostino was asked about it, he said he could neither confirm or deny it, saying it’s a personnel matter.

After learning of the alleged incident, School Committee member Karen Bachus and City Councilwomen Donna Travis (D-Ward 6), Camille Vella-Wilkinson (D-Ward 3) and Kathleen Usler (D-Ward 7) issued a joint-press release seeking an investigation and calling for a vote of no confidence in D’Agostino and two top-level administrators.

While Nadeau said he would not divulge how many candidates will participate in the forum once it’s scheduled, D’Agostino is believed to be one of two local candidates still in consideration. The other is William McCaffrey, director of the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center.

D’Agostino was named interim superintendent in September 2012 after Peter Horoschak was forced out of the post prior to completing his three-year contract. The committee later named D’Agostino, who was director of special education, to the job for one year without posting the position or interviewing candidates. Last year it posted the position. A total of 15 candidates applied for the job, a number that was cut to seven finalists who were interviewed by the committee. There has since been a second round of interviews that resulted in an undisclosed number of finalists.

Nadeau said the School Committee must deal with a number of issues, adding that “things are coming to a head” and “it can be a lot to swallow.”

“If we don’t spread things out, we may not make the right decisions because they were rushed,” he said.

Regarding Ragosta’s investigation, Nadeau said the committee has to be fair no matter what its feelings are.

“We don’t want this anxiety hanging over the city. Getting on each other is not the way it should be,” he said. “Everyone should be treated innocent until proven guilty. We can’t take action before it’s time; that would not be fair.”

Nadeau said the forum would be scheduled for a time when all five School Committee members will be available to attend.

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  • JohnStark

    Yeah, the last thing you'd want to do is rush this thing. The interim superintendent has been interim for 2 1/2 years. School consolidation has been on the table, in one form or another, for three years with no end in sight. It's been a year and a half since a teacher allegedly drew a penis on a child's arm. All the while, both enrollment and teacher morale continue to plummet as the schools remain virtually leaderless. But whatever we do, let's not rush into anything.

    Thursday, April 9, 2015 Report this