FARMINGTON – Dealing with an array of decisions following a month and a half of budget deliberations, the MSAD 9 school board officially changed its name but decided to stick with its old superintendent.
The district will now be known as “Mount Blue Regional School District,” instead of “Municipal School Administration District No. 9.” The change is due to the reorganization law, which got rid of the MSADs. Instead, the district’s official name will become Regional School Unit 9, or RSU 9, but it will do business as Mt. Blue Regional School District.
The change will not require the repainting of buses, but will rather be phased in as new documents, letterhead and buses are purchased by the district.
The board first voted to keep MSAD 9, an effort by Director Neil Stinneford, of Weld, “to keep the name the same as it is on the buses.” That motion was soundly defeated, with Director Angela LaClair of Wilton, moving that “Mount Blue” be the new name, as it was identifiable by many throughout the district.
In a more seriously-discussed decision, the board also approved the rehiring of Superintendent Michael Cormier, signing him to a four-year contract.
Cormier, who began working for MSAD 9 in 1993 and is eligible for retirement, had said previously that he intended to reapply for his position. This will allow him to draw upon his Maine Public Employees Retirement System account and salary with MSAD 9. The switch, which several other employees in the district have also taken advantage of, is possible due to a revamping of the state’s retirement system in 2004.
The change will actually save the district and state money, according to Cormier. The state of Maine saves roughly 17 percent in payments, because Cormier will be working, and the district saves $10,000 annually thanks to the state picking up some of the superintendent’s benefits.
However, some directors expressed concerns about the rehiring. Director Jo Josephson of Temple, said that, while she understood it was completely legal, the act went against her principles.
“I believed that when you go into retirement,” Josephson said, “you retire, and stop working, or do something else.”
Josephson, who also said she disagreed with the process with which the board approved the rehiring, voted in opposition, as she had at previous votes on the subject. At this meeting Josephson was joined by Director Yvette Robinson of Farmington, Director Joyce Morton of Farmington, and Director Claire Andrews of Farmington.
“I have been struggling with this,” Andrews told the board, “a lot.”
Other directors spoke in favor of the rehiring. Stinneford noted that Cormier would be drawing upon a public employee retirement which he himself had earned through years of payments, and that both the state and district would save money. Director Keith Swett of Wilton, noted that he supported the move simply due to Cormier’s qualifications.
“He’s the best person for the job,” Swett said. He and other directors noted that with two major school construction projects in process, a new superintendent would be extremely unlikely to do as well as Cormier.
Cormier will work in the district on a four-year contract, starting at $98,659 annually, which was his old salary. His benefits will no longer be paid for through the school district, instead being picked up through the retirement system.
In other contract-related business, Stinneford reported that the contract subcommittee was filing a request for a mediator in ongoing discussions with the representatives of the support staff.
“We were not making progress,” Stinneford said. He noted that future steps after mediation could include arbitration.
Admin logging on for David Hyde:
Recently, it has been reported that SAD 9 Superintendent Michael Cormier has submitted notice of his retirement. Typically, this would be a time to praise and thank Dr. Cormier for his efforts and service to our school system. However, in this case Dr. Cormier has no intention of leaving his current job, or changing it in any way.
Unfortunately, there is a practice where a superintendent may “retire” in order to shift the cost of benefits away from our district budget, to “retirement benefits” which are covered by the state of Maine. Then, the superintendent may be “rehired” to do the same job, at the same salary. Apparently, this is a legal scheme but in my opinion it reeks of corruption. I am not implying that Dr. Cormier is a corrupt man. I am raising awareness to a flawed system that has come into effect from an aggressive and well organized lobby. Simply put, Dr. Cormier is getting a massive increase in salary (salary plus pension) for doing the same job.
This comes at a time when our nation, state and local community is faced with a “once in a lifetime” financial crisis. People are losing jobs. Businesses are suffering. Every employee at Franklin Memorial Hospital has agreed to put on hold any merit or cost of living pay raise. Some positions in SAD 9 have already been cut, and yet their leader is getting the biggest pay raise of his life. The fact that we are in a financial crisis does not make the process wrong. It is wrong in good times or in bad.
Of great concern is that we elect school board members to over see these things. I believe the SAD 9 School Board of Directors has made a mistake. How can we teach our students to be honest and ethical beyond reproach when this can happen hardly without a word of concern? Sure, it may be legal. But is that the only standard we want our children to live by? Do we want to do business with anyone who replies to our complaint or concern with “well, it is legal”?
When we watch the news and hear of things like this occurring in developing countries (or Chicago) we simply think “how corrupt, how ingenuous, at least that would never happen here.” Well, it is happening here. I am told this is happening all across the state of Maine. As a tax payer, that doesn’t make me feel any better. I feel as though I am being robbed. The only way for this to stop is for the SAD 9 School Board to act and send a message to our state legislators that this practice must stop.
Dr. Cormier has been a strong leader in our school district. He deserves our appreciation. It is unfortunate that he and the board feel this is a necessary step to save money for our district at the expense of the state and each tax payer. I believe there is another way.
I would like to include that my wife is an incoming member of the SAD 9 school board (July 2009). I write this letter independently and this does not necessarily represent her views.
David Hyde, Temple
We would all love to double tap. But when you retire from other jobs, your not rehired. Smells of the
oldboy syndrome that is famous in Farmington. I am sure there is someone else in Sad 9 that could have filled the job at lesser pay. So how are we saving money?
Why is it a board decision? Don’t board members represent their town and the taxpayers in that town? It should be a taxpayer decision. It’s seems like it’s a big secret. The Daily Bulldog is the only local paper I’ve seen even mention it.
So many people have no job, and this guy gets paid twice for one while the district cuts secretarial jobs in half.