Winchester leaders resign
WINCHESTER — Three top-level officials with the Winchester School District have resigned.
Superintendent Kenneth R.
Dassau read resignation letters for himself, Business Administrator
Charlie Paulin and Director of Technology Christopher Boyle to school
board members at a meeting Thursday. Dassau also serves as the special
education director for the district.
The board voted to extend Dassau’s contract for 60
days. He will remain with the district through Aug. 30 to help search
for candidates to fill the technology and business administrator
positions as soon as possible, he said.
Paulin will work with the district as needed through the summer, but Boyle will leave at the end of June to take a similar position in Massachusetts.
After voters approved a $10.8 million budget in March — about $675,000 less than what the school board recommended — the board decided to reduce the hours and pay of some central office staff, Winchester School Board Chairman Trevor S. Croteau said. That included the technology and business administrator jobs.
The changes will go into effect on July 1.
The technology director position was cut from 40 hours to 30 hours per week with no benefits, Boyle said. The business administrator’s salary and benefits were also cut.
Boyle said he enjoyed working with the Winchester district, but he could not handle the same job responsibilities as a part-time employee. Ultimately, he had to make the best decision for his family, he said.
Dassau said when he learned that the technology director and business administrator planned to resign, he decided to leave, too, to allow the board to assemble a whole new administrative team with one similar set of goals.
Dassau began as superintendent of the Winchester district in July. Prior to that, he worked as the superintendent of N.H. School Administrative Unit 38, which provided top-level administrative services for the Winchester, Hinsdale and Monadnock school districts before the unit disbanded.
He started at Unit 38 in 1989 as the special education director, moved up to assistant superintendent in 2000 and was promoted to superintendent in 2005.
At Winchester, Dassau has had a difficult relationship with the town’s budget committee, which earlier this year attempted to cut the district’s budget to $9 million, an amount school officials said would have made it impossible to operate the schools.
Dassau also served as superintendent for the Surry School District through an agreement between the Winchester and Surry districts. Beginning next year, Dassau said Surry will contract with Concord-based Granite State Transitional Principals for superintendent services.
Dassau will be a contract employee with Granite State Transitional Principals and continue as superintendent and special education director for Surry.
Croteau said the board is in the process of forming a search committee for a new superintendent and has begun advertising the vacant positions.
Kaitlin Mulhere can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or kmulhere@keenesentinel.com
Paulin will work with the district as needed through the summer, but Boyle will leave at the end of June to take a similar position in Massachusetts.
After voters approved a $10.8 million budget in March — about $675,000 less than what the school board recommended — the board decided to reduce the hours and pay of some central office staff, Winchester School Board Chairman Trevor S. Croteau said. That included the technology and business administrator jobs.
The changes will go into effect on July 1.
The technology director position was cut from 40 hours to 30 hours per week with no benefits, Boyle said. The business administrator’s salary and benefits were also cut.
Boyle said he enjoyed working with the Winchester district, but he could not handle the same job responsibilities as a part-time employee. Ultimately, he had to make the best decision for his family, he said.
Dassau said when he learned that the technology director and business administrator planned to resign, he decided to leave, too, to allow the board to assemble a whole new administrative team with one similar set of goals.
Dassau began as superintendent of the Winchester district in July. Prior to that, he worked as the superintendent of N.H. School Administrative Unit 38, which provided top-level administrative services for the Winchester, Hinsdale and Monadnock school districts before the unit disbanded.
He started at Unit 38 in 1989 as the special education director, moved up to assistant superintendent in 2000 and was promoted to superintendent in 2005.
At Winchester, Dassau has had a difficult relationship with the town’s budget committee, which earlier this year attempted to cut the district’s budget to $9 million, an amount school officials said would have made it impossible to operate the schools.
Dassau also served as superintendent for the Surry School District through an agreement between the Winchester and Surry districts. Beginning next year, Dassau said Surry will contract with Concord-based Granite State Transitional Principals for superintendent services.
Dassau will be a contract employee with Granite State Transitional Principals and continue as superintendent and special education director for Surry.
Croteau said the board is in the process of forming a search committee for a new superintendent and has begun advertising the vacant positions.
Kaitlin Mulhere can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1439, or kmulhere@keenesentinel.com
45 comments:
The Winchester School District, has a golden opportunity with this news. SAU 38 obviously wasn't working well for the towns involved, to want it dismantled. Why did Winchester re-hire the same people at top wages? It is time that the voters, and majority school board members took control of the system again. A shake up was in order. Although it is still early, the news is good.
When the teachers union couldn’t get their contract ratified while being part of SAU 38 because the larger and smarter Swanzey voters kept turning down the contract. Certainly afew on the school board to please their friends the teacher union to ratify the contract would guarantee their seats on the school board. Kevan Whippie, Colleen Duquette and Ken Dassau conceived a plan to con the Winchester voters into a plan to leave SAU 38 and start our own SAU knowingly the Winchester voter do not vote and the voters will stupidly fall for their plan. So the band of crooks got us to vote leave SAU 38 under the flag of to save money. So the contract was ratified . One problem, greed over took the new SAU under Dassau’s and they insisted to be paid handsomely for their part.
Then came the budget committee under Brian Moser to cut the school budget. Most members of the budget committee knew the over paid rats would flee the ship if the money was cut. This is just what happened. Some dirt bags are still there! The job is not completed until Kevan Whippie is tossed out. Next year
At best, it's a start in the right direction; however depending upon who the board hires and we know we have issues with the majority of the members on the board, will tell the real story. Will they pick someone out of friendship or will they choose someone who is qualified and who'll work at a reasonable salary? The budget is still so bloated and needs more cuts, 10-11 million a year for a failing system is outrageous.Per student you're talking nearly $35-$40,000 per kid to educate them. That's crazy! Salaries should be based on performance and personnel on absolute need. Our kids are still failing, too many are labeled special ed and spending is out of control. It's a good start; but more change is needed to take the burden off tax payers and to insure our kids get a quality education in this town.
The budget was not cut because of Brian Moser's leadership with the budget committee. The reason the school budget was cut is because of voter turn out at School Deliberative.
Carpe Diem.....Absolutely. Time to start fresh and move forward.
The budget was cut because Brian held his ground, Rick Horton and Elisha Jackson and the rest of the board wouldn't take crap from Kevin Whippie and Ken Gardner and a lower budget was proposed for voters to accept. If not for everyone's hard work and determination we'd have been stuck with Ken Dassau's fiasco supported by his cronies on the school board, especially Colleen Duquette.
It is true the voters showed their discontent with the school board. It took high tax bills to wake them up. It is not over yet we the tax payers received a one year reprieve on high taxes thanks to Brian Moser‘s budget committee. Now with the new school board, the selectmen hand picked budget committee the our tax bill will go up still more.
Rick Horton and Elisha Jackson with their 10.8 budget was in my eyes a sell-out of the rest of the budget committee. The budget committee fought hard against Dassau’s and Whippie’s arrogance with their determination to get what they wanted for themselves and the teachers union. 10.2 is what the school budget should have been and that amount would have been voted on and passed at deliberative session. The 10.8 was to high and not what the budget committee agreed to.
These two sold out Brian Moser along with the budget committee and the town tax payers top to feed their ego and we all will pay for it.
Rick Horton is a charlatan who traded hot dogs for votes. Rick Horton is to close to Ken Gardner and will do just what Gardner wants.
All those people resigned on their own accord. Good for them. Lets not forget others are leaving too. Over 4 teachers resigned too. Who would want to stay? Good luck replacing them with no benefits and a town that hates the school..what a joke!
Half of the the people have never even set foot in the building. The town of winchester adults are the reason it gets such a bad wrap. I feel sorry for the kids and staff. Try holding parents responsible instead of blaming the school all the time .
If there is overthe spending.... ask Brian... he signs all the checks now so he would be allowing it.
Why dont you guys post the positive reports like the Winchester student who is khs senior class president or winchester student who is the cheshire career center student of 2012. Or all the Winchester kids graduating this year who are going to college or already working. Seems like they are doing fine and had a good Winchester education. Success is based on more than state testing scores!
With all these people fleeing I mean resigning means they were here only for the money and don't care one damn about the kids.
Seeing as how Winchester doesn't have a high school because it lost it's accreditation and squandered away funds for repairing the building and that now our kids go to Keene to learn, who do want the people who run this blog to give credit to? It sure as hell ain't Winchester teachers responsible for them graduating high school and going on to college.
Really.... then who? Most of the kids graduating are the first in their entire family. But hey your right of course....lets only give credit to the teachers when the kids arent doing well. If the kids don't love the Winchester teachers then why are they always coming back to visit. Ask the majority of the kids before you speak for them.
Who do think taught them how to read and do all those other things to get to high-school. They sure as hell were not all home schooled!
Its amazing, any person in any town that tries to get a handle on school spending, gets branded as anti student and anti education. The education system is crippling a lot of households and something needs to be done. Special ED is the big culprit, but that doesn't mean that other areas of reform cant be looked at. Dedicated teachers or not, a living wage with the summer off is pretty dam good job, so I expect a lot from these people.
I am glad that the school board has gotten rid of the ridiculous salaries at the SAU, where secretaries,I mean Administrative Assistants, make more than teachers that have been in our district for more than 15 years with Masters degrees.
The teachers of the school work hard, they care for the students, work more than what is required of them, buy materials that aren't paid for by the district. Let's look at parents for some of the blame for the test scores. Parents that don't send their kids to school. What about the kids that are sent to school and have never seen a book before they arrive at school. Teachers are trying to teach and parent at the same time. Its time for parents and the community to step up to the plate are realize that teaches can't do it all. When students come to school all ready behind they are playing catch up from the beginning. Our teachers are making a difference. Perhaps the reason why teachers are leaving is because they are tired of working so hard and being bashed all over town. We have a teacher of the year in our school yet all people can say is negative things. There's a reason why so many teachers have been in Winchester for so long. They care about our kids and like it here. Let's start treating them with some respect!
The point about being able to read and write is true. The point, for many of us that demand more, is the cost of learning to read and write in the Winchester school system. In the day and age when places like India and China , are producing engineers, scientists, computer specialists, at a rapid pace, doesn't say much for us. Many of them leared to read and write, under impoverished conditions that would horrify the average Winchester resident. Again, the point is cost vs. output. A kid in a mud hut, can learn to read and write for a fraction of the cost of a kid in Winchester, with the same potential to succeed. We will be over taken in science, industry, manufacturing, because of our gold plated anchor of a school system. The cost, the cost, the cost, is the point.
I'm curious.
Special Education seems to be the biggest financial burden in our town. The federal law determines who gets special education, not the school. So, why do so many Special Education kids come to our town?
FYI to Anonymous 6/13,
When Winchester School was under SAU 38 Administrative Unit, it was still its own school district. Only Winchester residents vote on Winchester Teacher contracts. Two years+ ago, it wasn't passed by the Winchester voters. The next year it was passed and the Winchester staff is very greatful for that. Swanzey had/has nothing to do with the vote. Where Swanzey did have an affect on Winchester was when Winchester teachers worked with Dr. C. to lower health insurance costs and Swanzey negated this effort with their vote, as the larger, dominant block, to not consider less expensive options. (We were in their insurance pool.) Now we are not. I think we are with Hinsdale.
Based on the erroneous information you have written about, I can understand your concern. I thought it important to correct this, as you wrote incorrect information. I hope this helps readers, but I think most folks understand that the Winchester Teachers Contract is voted on by Winchestr residents.
Major problems and expense,
Bloated administrative salary's
Including Vice principle
Special Ed, Why so we have so many??? and with this brings aids I know the aids don't make a lot but with the large number we have it adds up to a large expense.
Not defending the teachers but they are the least of our problems, they are needed, they have degrees to pay for and all the ones I have met do care for our kids and do more than expected.
The teachers and the Kids are under scrutiny because of the first 2 issues pointed out in the start of this post. we need to get 1/2 our kids that I feel are normal un-coded, we need to lower the special ed that we have and lower the amount constantly moving into town for what ever reason.
when we hire new admin staff lets keep our budget in mind and not over pay them when they do not even step into a classroom and educate our kids, Unneeded fluff IMPO. We are such a small town and small school lets get the school budget to match that statistic.something to think about I grew up in a small town and small school and the vice principle was a teacher do we really need a vice making 70,000? and principle @ 80,000?
There are no summers off. A teacher can choose to be paid less for the school year and stretch it into the summer (26 pays) or stop getting paid in June. So summers off is a bunch of B/S. Their contracts run from August to June. Get your facts straight.
Also, I have been to 3rd world countries, they are learning to read and write with the support of families or older siblings or their community. Our kids our going on to be great things. You obvious do not know them then. You should. They are pretty amazing!
Because there is strong link to kids needing special education and poverty. The school has a free and reduced rate for lunch of over 70%. That is huge. Also over hald the apts. in Winchester and section 8.
Maybe the kids of Winchester are sick of being compared to everyone else. Maybe they want to nurses, teachers, mechanics, carpenters, vets, military leaders, parents, artists, etc. Shame on you for suggesting these careers choices and dreams are not as important as engineers, scientists, or computer techs.
What is a fair salary for a vice principal who has been a teacher in Winchester for almost 30 years? She has a Master's Degree plus 30 and several graduate certifications. To be frank, I am shocked she stays after the way she has been bashed in town.
The vice principal may have been a teacher in the district for 30 years, but not an administrator. She is new to that. The last time I looked no teacher, even ones with master degrees don't make 70,000.
Why do we need a full time principal, vice principal? That should be the next position to go to 1/2 time or get rid of it. Here's a thought how about if she becomes the music teacher again and be a teaching vice principal! Then maybe 70,000 might be justified.
I don't care how teachers get paid, a job that pays a living wage with benefits, and have the summers off, its a dam good job. My bookkeeping teacher advised me to go into teaching, he said," where else can you go to make more money and work less time." He also said that he was paid to make you learn and that was exactly what happened in his class. I'm not knocking teachers, I'm just saying it beats roofing and probably pays better.
$70,000 a year for a position that doesn't need to exist. Word is that this position was established so this person wouldn't have to teach anymore.
Saw the ads in the paper for the admin jobs. All require Masters degrees and two of them are only part time without benefits.
Curious as to who would take them considering the amount of education required. Perhaps formally retired workers?
On another note, why are we surprised that our taxes at the local level continue to rise. The costs of items haven't reduced, and the cost structure has constantly been pushed down from federal to state, back to the local level. Unfunded Federal and State mandates, and we end up paying for them at the local level.
Actually there are 4 that are part-time without benefits. Sped Director, Superintendent, Tech Director and Business Manager. I bet people are laughing hysterically at those postings. Good luck on that! Only somone out of retirement and half a brain would go for that. With all the experience that is required. It makes the town look worse than it already does.
Way to go!
The root of the problem is the government funded housing situation in Winchester. Every town has government funded housing, Winchester just has more than its share since it encourages these types of properties. For various reasons, the children in these homes need more attention at the school. That means more assistants, more salaries and the higher budget.
The state needs to step in and help communities like ours. I blame the local representatives for failing their voters.
To the commenter that mentioned the pay and choosing the smaller paycheck to be paid 52 weeks? I hope you are not teaching our children. Your overall salary does not change just because you choose this option! Educating kids these days is a rough job but I believe getting the summer off, winter and spring week vacations is a nice bonus too. You will never find that in the private sector.
I too think that $70,000 for a vice principal is a high salary. I have met her. She is a nice woman, dedicated to her position and education here in Winchester but still, that salary she gets is too high. Those that question the town and school system should not be labeled negative and anti-education. Simply put, it is our money they are using. I want to know where it is going. My family pays $4,500 a year in taxes for a small piece of property. You can be darn sure if were we were to make a $4500 purchase as a family, we would do our research, question and make sure we knew what we were spending our money on.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Kevin on Swan Street.
Well Kevin om swan street, great post, common sense, something that's lacking at the end of Parker street.
Speaking of schools, if the kids are drinking the same water we are getting over on Richmond road, the school must smell like a swimming pool.
I know this does not follow the blog header, but I am glad you brought up the water situation. Winchester was the envy of all town around with the best town's water system anyone had. Not having the cost of treatment. Now the water is being treated, taste like crap, water bands and possible pollution being sucked in from surrounding neighbors to the wells like the race tracts on route 10. Selectmen Conservationist Beaver Dam Gus Ruth (what a joke) stated “we have the possibility of loosing the wells on Route 10”! With high school cost, town labor cost aand benfits and insurances we do not have money set aside for new wells. You vote, you decide!
At least most have somewhat decent water. How about the poor folks who have spaghetti lines???? Illegal "hoses"!!!! They get to pay the same water rate as the town hall considers them town water lines, BUT if there is a problem with the lines the property owners have to pay for the repairs!! Can't imagine how the water in those lines would test out. Can't wait for the state to get involved in that hornet's nest.
The spaghetti lines are another special deal the selectmen made for certain people in the past. No different than what is going on now.
Wow. Everyone seems so angry! And now we're distracted to complaining about water. I'm new to Winchester, is the whole town like this? Negative comments, terrible and embarassing misspellings (vice principle, greatful), and a tone of lack of intelligence. Gulp! And they are the ones giving advice! Double Gulp!
Here is your answer as I see it with a calm mind. Kevin on Swan street is right: Our town has too much Section 8 housing. Just not enough people pulling their fair share and not willing to work with their kids before they go to school. Someone else said it perfectly: the federal government determines who gets Special Education, not the teachers! People don't work with their young kids, and whadda ya know - the kids qualify for SPED when they get to the school. Do you really wonder why taxes are so high? Answer: Its the school paying for SPED. They don't have a choice...but we do. Do you get that members of the Planning Board? Now, let's be nice to each other and work this out together. New to town, John.
Don't kid yourself folks - the bad water is coming from the blasting at the Mitchell Gravel pit. Every time they have caps that don't go, they leach immediately into the soil and the aquifer below.
To John above,
WOW, new to town and already has the solution to our school problems. Must be so nice to be so intelligent that you can comment about other people's misspellings and intelligence. If you're such a smart person John, you should have done your homework and realized Winchester is a ghost town of it's former self, run by greedy dishonest and manipulative people supported by a group of voters made up of teachers, town employees and all of their relatives and friends who benefit from all of the backroom dealings and "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours moves at the expense of the honest hard working taxpayers of this town. The motto of our officials and town employees is spend spend spend and if you don't like how we don't follow the rules, "take us to court" is their response. The federal government isn't our problem, John, it's the corruption and lying and conniving that goes on behind closed doors that drives our tax rate up.
Welcome to Winchester, hope you have deep pockets.
The town ( I will use round numbers) runs on 3 million and the school runs on 11 million you can trim all you want out of the town budget and its not going to lower our taxes all that mutch, If we want out taxes to go down by a good amount its easy to see what budget we need to figure out and work on.
Of course the school budget is more. There are just about 500 kids and they are open from 6am to after 6pm provided services which is more than I can say for the town offices etc. It is also the only place to work in Winchester other than Plumbpak. Maybe if we could gets some actual businesses instead of crapholes downtown we could generate some revenue and stop blaming the school for everything. Always the blame game. Getting really old!
The school budget is 10.8 and taxes did go down. Hello? Where have you been?
I don't think its a angry statement to ask what happened to our water when we used to brag about our water and now we buy our drinking water in a bottle. Hopefully Rick and his able crew will get this mess cleaned up, I know it was a problem he inherited.
Taxes did not yet go down! And may not.
The June tax billing, by law, is 50% of the total prior year's taxes. Usually, because of tax increases, the December bill is significantly higher than June -- because it includes a full year's increase. Then, to those who don't care enough to actually know and understand, when the June bill comes out and it is less than December, they think that their March votes to spend, spend, spend actually resulted in lower taxes.
These people are products of a government education system that financially rewards teachers for meaningless "education" and psychology classes, and for indoctrinating unthinking, rote repetition of socialist lies (as opposed to critical thinking). They teach that outrage is more important than facts; that truth is determined by whomever shouts the loudest. But most of all, they destroy peoples' abilities to communicate effectively by dumbing them down. No wonder their students are easy prey for the Gus Ruths and Barack Obamas of the world. What they heck -- it's mostly "free." We are now the Land of the Free Lunch and the Home of the Manipulators.
I want to say "sorry" if I insulted anyone by pointing out their misspellings, but really- people will laugh at us if we make stupid mistakes on something that can be seen by the whole world! They'll think we are a bunch of hillbillies. We complain about the school, yet we don't spell simple words correctly? It makes us look like we're not educated. That should insult ALL of us!
We all agree the school has the largest budget in town; and we all think the number of Special education kids in the school is larger than it should be.
So... why do we have so many Special education kids? What is it about our town that attracts so many kids with learning troubles? (Is it shady back room deals, or "sleazy" town officials?)
I have to go back to Kevin on Swan Street who I think has the right answer! Too many mothers and fathers not caring enough to pay attention to their kids and help with their education. As Kevin stated, too much low income housing that attracts selfish people. Isn't anyone else upset by some unemployed people using EBT cards to buy beer and cigarettes and lottery tickets? Welfare is supposed to be short term and just to help people get back on their feet. I think most people in our good town try their best to make an honest living, but we have way too many people that are just sucking off the system and not even spending the extra time with their kids.
To Mr. Long Time Resident, Thank you for replying to my post on June 25th. I don't have all the answers for our town, but I sure do have this one!
New to town, John
New to town John,
You are so right! Kids are not coming to school prepared. More than half can't recognize their ABC's and some have no socialization skills. Alot of kids already come to school coded SPED from Headstart. They are coming in with all kinds of delays which started from birth to age 4. The preschool enrollment is 1/2 SPED, 1/2 Not. They are ages 3 and 4. What does that say?
I can't even get started on the welfare issues in town......
Letter to the Sentinel Opinion page this Sunday by a Winchester resident and teacher is in my opinion totally wrong.I agree with the former Governor of Vermont when he stated that we have relied on the advice of our educators all these years and it has brought us to the unfundable situation we find ourselves in today.
She is not a teacher, she was the accountant if you would've read the whole article. And she's right, since she left all kinds of things are screwed up in the payment department. The school board now has to pay all this extra money to have someone come in and do payroll. (Which was not correct) Ask Brian.
Rude awakening is an understatement! And Who cares what the Governer of Vermont said... Do you like being compared to everyone else? Do you believe and agree with everything everyone says about the residents of Winchester??
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