NILES SCHOOLS Hiring sparks union grievance

The Weathersfield superintendent has decided not to resign from his current job.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Citing a violation of contract and of state law, the city schools teachers union filed a grievance against the district's board of education concerning the hiring of an assistant superintendent.
It was filed this morning with Superintendent Patrick N. Guliano on behalf of the entire union, signed by Lawrence Kempe, grievance chairman for the union, and union President John Mahoney.
The grievance says the hiring Monday of Weathersfield Superintendent Rocco D. Adduci as assistant superintendent violates the contract between the board and union because the job was not posted internally, nor were applications accepted or interviews granted to qualified employees within the district.
"Our contract has been violated," Kempe said. "We are not asking for anything but what we've agreed upon in the contract."
It also notes that the board violated state law by not having the recommendation of Guliano before voting to employ Adduci.
Will wait for resolution
Adduci, who initially planned to resign from Weathersfield at the board meeting tonight, said in the wake of the uproar, he will not resign his current post. "If I had realized what was going to happen with all of this, I would not have put my school district out there," he said.
Adduci said he will wait and see what happens with posting the position in Niles, but is not sure if he will still apply. "I don't know what I want to do," he said.
The union is asking the board to justify the need for an assistant superintendent, especially since the district is in fiscal watch, Kempe said. They grievance also asks the board to follow the hiring and promotion procedure in the contract.
Board OK'd hiring
The superintendent has 10 days to consider the grievance and either act on it or deny it.
On Monday, school board members voted 3-2 to appoint Adduci assistant superintendent, with the idea he would replace Guliano as Niles superintendent beginning this fall.
But Rick Dickinson, general counsel for the Ohio School Boards Association in Columbus, said the vote was not valid because the current superintendent did not recommend the action.
Ohio Revised Code, section 3319.02(C) says "assistant superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and other administrators shall only be employed or re-employed in accordance with nominations of the superintendent."
Agendas for board meetings traditionally list all resolutions the board is expected to vote on, prefaced with wording that the recommendations for passage come from the superintendent. The agenda for Monday's meeting had no such wording.
"They've obviously got a couple of problems," Dickinson said.
Guliano said Tuesday he did not make the recommendation and was not asked by board members to have it placed on the agenda for Monday's meeting.
Schools Treasurer Linda C. Molinaro, who prepares agendas for board meetings, referred all questions to Guliano and board members. She declined to comment on who instructed her to place the resolution on the agenda.
Confusion
Board President John H. Davis said he knew the agenda was prepared before the Monday morning meeting and he believed Guliano had made the recommendation.
"Geez, you've got me," he said. "I assume the recommendation came from Pat. I guess we'll have to see what we need to do."
According to the Ohio Revised Code, the board may, by a three-fourths vote, re-employ any administrator whom the superintendent refuses to nominate.
The ORC does not say anything about overriding the lack of a recommendation to initially employ such an administrator.
Davis said board members will need "to educate ourselves about this rather quickly," and learn what, if anything, they need to do.
"I guess if that's the case, we may have to go back and do it again," he said. "This is all uncharted territory for us."
Thursday meeting set
The board is scheduled to meet in special session at noon Thursday in the administrative offices, 100 West St., to discuss personnel and the district's financial status. The meeting was called by Davis.
Dickinson said the board could meet and rescind the vote from Monday's meeting, and then start over with a recommendation from the superintendent.
"The other option of a three-fourths vote doesn't apply, because it only addresses re-employment," he said. "If they don't get a recommendation, then the law says they can't make the hire."