Sarno sears Central

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD On Wednesday, City Councilor Domenic Sarno called for an immediate search for a local resident to replace School Superintendent Joseph Burke, attacked Mayor Charles Ryan and Burke for a "void in leadership" and criticized School Committee members for not knowing about problems at Central High School.

One School Committee member, though, told Reminder Publications that Sarno is off base on several of his assertions.

Sarno's remarks came after the disclosure that Central High School has been on probation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as part of the school accreditation process. The probation status came as a surprise to both the School Committee and to Ryan, who is also a member of the School Committee.

While Sarno would not go so far to say Ryan was untruthful about his knowledge of the probation, he did say Ryan should have been aware of it if he were "in tune" with problems facing the school.

"Where the hell is the communication between the mayor, chair of the School Committee, and the superintendent?" Sarno asked.

Sarno was also critical of an Aug. 13 emergency meeting of the School Committee to address the probation. He believed the committee should meet sooner and the Aug. 13 date was an effort to "brush it [the issue] under the carpet."

School Committee members should also have been aware of the conditions at Central High School that led to the probation, including the over-crowding of classrooms, Sarno said.

Sarno said a search for "a visionary who will shake things up [as superintendent]" should start immediately.

Sarno is challenging Ryan for mayor.

Carol McCarl, vice president of the Central High PTO said parents had met with School Committee members Kenneth Shea, Jennifer Murphy and Antonette Pepe last fall to complain about over-crowding conditions at the school.

McCarl has two sons attending Central High School and she said classes have as many as 32 students. Some students are forced to sit on counters, as there are not enough desks, she added.

Pepe regularly visits the city's schools. Because of her visits to Central, she learned of issues surrounding the cleaning of the school and convinced the Finance Control Board to take action to address those problems.

Pepe said a day after Sarno's press conference that she had been to Central High School many times and was well aware of the over-crowding there. She had spoken about the matter at School Committee meetings, but was unaware Central High School was going through the accreditation process.

"The school superintendent does not keep us informed," Pepe said. She was not made aware Central High School was being evaluated. Richard Stoddard, Central's principal, had not told Pepe either about the accreditation.

Pepe explained that accreditation of a school is not a subject of which School Committee members would be aware unless an administrator informed them because the Committee is not part of the process.

Blaming Ryan and the School Committee for Central's probation is more about Sarno's run for office, Pepe charged.

"This is not a political issue," Pepe said.

She noted the over-crowding problem would be even more severe if Springfield's near 50 percent dropout rate was less.

At the vote taken earlier this year by the School Committee to extend Burke's contract by three years, Marjorie Hurst, Pepe and Ryan were the only three members opposed to the motion.

Pepe does agree with Sarno on one point: Burke should be replaced.