This is an update to an earlier post Retiring School District Business Manager to ‘Stay on’ offering consulting services over the summer.
Bottom line: Peter Curro retired School District Business Manager is staying on. He retired on 7/1/2022 and began consulting on 7/5/2022
History
It was announced at the 6/23/2022 Budget Committee meeting that the Londonderry School District Business manager would be retiring effective 7/1/2022. It was also announced that he would be ‘staying on’ to do some outside counsel and consulting. He will mainly be overseeing food service, transportation and ‘auxiliary services’ that are not finance or management, or accounting related.
At the 8/2/2022 School Board meeting the board was asked if the business manager was staying on. The school board chair, Amy Finamore, stated that there was no contract and seemed unaware of any ongoing consulting services.
To be clear the business manager did not state he would be submitting a bill for services, but did not indicate services would be provided at no cost. The school board chair also refused to answer when asked if he would be paid in the future.
Minutes from the 8/2/2022 School Board Meeting
“She (Amy Finamore) can confirm that the CFO has retired and there is no contract with the school district. Mr. Douglas asks for clarification that when the CFO says he is staying on that means he is not getting paid. Amy Finamore mentioned the School Board approves contracts and they would have to approve that. Mr. Douglas asks if he is being paid or not. She confirms he was not paid in July. Mr. Slater said Mr. Curro was there that night because he submitted the documents in June and nobody else was part of that. Mr. Douglas mentions that Mr. Curro said he is staying on as consultant to take some burden off the District Office.”
School Board Minutes 8/2/2022
At the 8/20/2022 School Board meeting the board addressed hiring the business manager as a consultant ‘8.1 Executing Consultant Contract for P. Curro for 2022-23 School Year.’
Minutes of the 8/2/2022 School Board Meeting
“Executing Consultant Contract for P. Curro for 2022-23 School Year:
School Board Minutes 9/20/2022
Mr. Black discussed the administrators that are carrying two jobs for the benefit of the organization. We are in a good place, but we can’t be so confident, and we realize we have a new Food Service Director, Building and Grounds and a host in new positions. They want the ability to tap into the knowledge Mr. Curro has. With some of these new positions, Mrs. McKenney and Mr. Black want the ability to pick his brain. There are a lot of consultant contracts, and it is standard. On August 18th, the Board was comfortable with Mr. Curro in a consultant role. The second page of the memo maps out the specifics in the three departments. Mrs. McKenney adds that we have people doing two jobs and trying to keep everything where it needs to be. Mr. Curro brings historical knowledge with school and town decisions from his experience. The hourly rate is $90. As far as who made the decision, Mr. Black is proposing, and the Board will make the decision. It is what is best for the District and his expertise will serve the District well. Mr. Slater mentioned this has been talked about since June. The Board decided they would prefer Mr. Curro as a consultant and not working for the District and that is why it is out here tonight. He has met with Mr. Black and Mrs. McKenney to try and understand this and what we have done from July to now has been tremendous. Mrs. McKenney is doing two jobs at this point, and we will be looking to fill that position. We are at a disadvantage at this point because of the prior years because Mr. Curro ran every department. We are loosening up and letting managers do their jobs. He wasn’t a fan of this to start with, but he doesn’t want to lose a step. The Board wanted this presentation, and he thinks we need to have somebody we can ask a question, but he doesn’t want to rely on them to make decisions. He doesn’t see this as being a lot of time. Mrs. McKenney said it will be different depending on the time of year and tough to put a number on it. Budget time and bonds will be more time, and this contract is just for this year. Mr. Slater would like to see all areas of colleagues and surrounding Districts be utilized before we log in a lot of hours with Mr. Curro. He can see 5-10 hours a month being needed. He feels this school board is very careful on how things are done and wants to move this District forward. They are looking out for our taxpayers even though it doesn’t seem that way. Mr. Gray stated that Mrs. McKenney said Mr. Curro would be used for procedural issues and very specific items. Mr. Gray reiterates that Mr. Curro will be here to assist, but Mrs. McKenney and Mr. Black will be the point of contact. Mrs. Loughlin would like an update after a month to see how many hours are being utilized and using Mr. Curro when needed and appropriate is much needed.
Mrs. Butcher made a motion to approve the Consulting Contract for P. Curro for the 2022-2023 school year. Mrs. Loughlin seconded the motion. The motion passed by a vote of 5-0.”
The contract was signed on September 30, 2022.
Now here is where things change. A Right to Know (RTK) response was sent to this website several days ago. The RTK was specific to invoices for the approved contract. The invoices totaled $10,035 for 111.5 hours.
Looking further into the invoices, the 10/31/2022 invoices billed for services provided in July of 2022
When asked at the August, 2 2022 school board meeting the chair stated they had no contract. This would be technically be a true statement, but work was being done, just not billed. The bill was submitted 3 months later for a total of 47 hours in July.
How is it that when asked on 8/2/2022 if the former business manager was going to be paid no one in attendance responded? The business managers retirement was effective on 7/1/2022 and work began 5 days later on 7/5/2022. Was no one aware of 47 hours of consulting in July? The School Board did not discuss or approve the contract until September 20, 2022. The estimate was for 5-10 hour per month, yet the district has been billed for 111.5 hours at a cost of $10,035. Was an update given after the contract was signed on 9/30/2022? The contract approved was for the entire 2022-23 School Year. We still have 6 months left in the year. How much will the school district be billed for?
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