Scarola EMS Principal Starting July 1st
Last night's Elwood BOE meeting was well-attended, and it was filled with people who rarely attend these meetings who had obviously been persuaded to come to speak on behalf of Pat Scarola, the former and long-time Elwood MIddle SchoolPrincipal.
Mr. Scarola had been promoted from his former position when the new Superintendent of Schools, Dave Cenerelli, took over from Bill Swart last July 1st. But Mr. Cenerelli had proposed, in his draft budget to the BOE, that the position of Ass't Sup't for Educational Services, which was the spot to which Mr. Scarola had been promoted, be abolished as part of the necessary cost-cutting measures to deal with the current economic crisis.
Unfortunately, and I personally witnessed this in some of the E-mails which I had received prior to the meeting, many people had been told, either directly by internet postings or by family or friends who themselves read such postings, that Mr. Scarola was going to lose his pension by being forced out just one year from when he had intended to retire.
The reality was far different than that, as was made clear at the PTA meeting on April 14th (joint meeting of Boyd, Middle School, Council), and repeated early in last night's BOE meeting.
Mr. Scarola had been eligible for retirement for several years and anyone familiar with pension systems, including the State's, knows that once you are qualified for retirement, those benefits cannot be taken away from you.
That was one major error being sent around via the internet and phone chains.
Additionally, since retiring one year later can mean an increased pension, the BOE, apparently sometime in March, had made an early retirement offer to Mr. Scarola, because of the elimination of his current position, so that he would not suffer financially as a result of these actions.
That was one major piece of information that was not being sent around via the internet and phone chains.
But even that significant error, and that significant omission, did not account for all of the gaps in understanding the reality of the situation.
What the BOE did not know, as was told to PTA members on April 14th and to the entire audience last night, was that Mr. Scarola did not want to accept that package.
Unfortunately, using the normal chain of administrative responsibility for any school district, the BOE was getting their feedback from the Superintendent, who was himself speaking with Mr. Scarola, and it was not until April 3rd that they heard from Mr. Cenerelli that Mr. Scarola was not willing to accept the incentive package that the BOE had offered.
At that point a series of direct discussions with Mr. Scarola, by various trustees, took place, and that set in motion individual discussions among the trustees, and finally an Executive Session - during the ten day Easter/Passover recess - to work out an alternative plan.
Since the current EMS Principal, Dave Klecher, had surprisingly announced on March 23rd his intention to resign his position effective June 30th, the EMS Principal slot was now going to be available for allocation. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, the BOE had another alternative regarding options for Mr. Scarola.
And that is just what has finally worked out over the past several days.
While it was great to see so many people energized, and willing to come to a BOE meeting to address an issue of personal concern, it would have been better if they were there on the basis of facts and the complete story, rather than misinformation and omitted facts.
But, it has all worked out well, and Mr. Scarola, a legend in his own time, will be continuing his historical role in Elwood, and for that we should be grateful.
Thank you to Mr. Scarola, and to his many friends and colleagues who spoke on his behalf or who asked good questions in advance of the meeting, and thank you to our wise and creative Board of Education for solving this dilemma.
Jerry Hannon
