CANFIELD SCHOOLS Board upholds pay for official

One member thought another shouldn't have voted on paying the associated superintendent's salary.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- A school board member says the district's departing associate superintendent hasn't lived up to his responsibilities and shouldn't be paid the rest of his salary.
Sam Pitzulo asked the board Wednesday night not to pay Doug Hiscox, who is expected to resign as associate superintendent Jan. 31. Pitzulo's motion failed 3-2.
Hiscox, the district's former superintendent, had been asked by the board to revise board policy. Under his contract, the school board is slated to pay him $7,770 for his last four weeks of work. The contract called for Hiscox to earn $93,992 per year.
"To date, we have 10 pages with handwriting on it," Pitzulo said of the revisions. The board policy is written on a stack of documents about an inch thick.
"The performance on his contract isn't adequate," Pitzulo said.
The vote
Pitzulo and Bruce Brocker voted for the motion, while Charles Eddy Jr., Martha Zarlenga and Mark Squicquero opposed it.
"I'm not going to be backing up on any employee's contract that we agreed to," Eddy said.
Squicquero noted the board wasn't sure if Hiscox would be able to complete the revisions by Jan. 31. The contract doesn't state he must complete the revisions.
Hiscox did not attend Wednesday's meeting and could not be reached. He hasn't worked in the board office on a regular basis since August, when he was named associate superintendent and asked to revise the board policy.
Squicquero said he has been talking with Hiscox about the revisions.
Hiscox announced in March he would resign Jan. 31 to pursue other jobs in education.
Since then, he has been hired as the superintendent of East Liverpool School District. Hiscox also has said he's helping toward the opening of a center that will coordinate professional development opportunities for teachers and college students trying to be teachers.
Brocker said he thought Hiscox officially resigned when he was hired in East Liverpool.
Alleging impropriety
The vote on Pitzulo's motion followed a contentious discussion between Pitzulo and Eddy, with Pitzulo saying Eddy shouldn't vote on the motion because he sold Hiscox a car.
Eddy works as a car dealer in Austintown.
"You're out of line; you're way out of line," Eddy responded. "Does that mean I don't vote on [Superintendent] Dante Zambrini's contract because he does business with me?"
Zambrini noted that Squicquero is a dentist and that many district employees are his patients.
Squicquero added that both the Ohio Ethics Commission and the Ohio School Board Association have told him Eddy can vote on a contract for Hiscox. He said Pitzulo should have talked to the school board association and the ethics commission before questioning Eddy.
The board accepted treasurer Pattie Kesner's request not to receive a raise next year out of concern for the district's financial future.
The unions representing the district's teachers and custodians also have voted not to take raises for a year.
hill@vindy.com