The recent revelation that School Superintendent, Dr. Christopher Martes, had retired while the community had been kept in the dark, has raised public interest and awareness of school matters. Different stakeholders have risen to comment on the matter in various fora. We will take a close look at their statements as those statements are revealing and enlightening to those interested in the issues and the governance of our schools.

The School Committee’s discussion of the status of the Superintendent of Schools during the October 18 meeting can serve as focal point. In a departure from the typical bland dialogue, the exchange was full of emotion that helps to build a more detailed picture of the system.

The video of the discussion is available, in its entirety, at the Foxboro Cable Access web site. The part of the video corresponding to the Committee’s discussion is available at our web site.

Let’s examine the expressions of members of:

 

The School Administration

Dr. Christopher Martes
It is noteworthy that most of the attention has been focused on Superintendent Martes. Those who have been critical have pointed to his greater compensation after retirement. This compensation is, according to Dr. Martes, in compliance with the regulations of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System.

It is also of note that Committee members Gardner, Kominsky, and Lord used their comments to defend Dr. Martes’ new arrangement, which had been kept secret for months.

However, we would like to highlight Dr. Martes’ words.

Dr. Martes stated that it was "pretty easy to figure out" when he was going to be pension eligible. He also said he thought the story would be that he wanted to "reduce the town’s appropriation or the… or the school budget." He has said the Town’s contribution to his benefits has decreased by $40,000.

If the retirement date was easy to figure out and Dr. Martes wanted to reduce the Town’s appropriation accordingly, when did Dr. Martes mention this to the Town? Did Dr. Martes raise this matter before Town Meeting, so those $40,000 could pay for another salary or to restore the funding to municipal programs? Did Dr. Martes reduce the school budget by the $40,000, if this was his claimed intention?

Dr. Martes said he "was time bound by the newspaper coming out." It is possible that Dr. Martes had also felt bound by professionalism and honor to inform his fellow education professionals of his change in status. What compelling force would overcome his high degree of professionalism to inform others of his retirement, even if still functioning as superintendent? Was Dr. Martes pressured by current or previous members of the Committee to keep silent?

We are familiar with the example of Mr. Moretti, who’s retirement was published by The Sun Chronicle on August 30, 2006. His retirement in October 2006 saved the Mansfield School District $30,000. What was so different or special in Dr. Martes’ case that the Committee chose to keep secret and maintain silent?

Dr. Martes offered the following explanation for his silence:

“I chose not to make this public on the first day of school, as other superintendents have over the years announced that they were retiring at the end of the school year. It’s because I felt that we needed to get off to a terrific start.”

Why did Dr. Martes keep silent the second day of school? The third? The 30th…? When was Dr. Martes planning to announce his retirement and new pay agreement?

Dr. Martes has highlighted the book Good to Great on several ocasions. The book presents some characteristics for what the author, Mr. Jim Collins, called "Level 5 Leadership," the highest and most desirable type of leadership that would help a company become successful. One characteristic of a Level 5 Leader is that he or she will set up successors for success.

Why would the announcement of Dr. Martes’ retirement prevent the Schools from having "a terrific start"? Has Dr. Martes been unable to set in place an administrative team and a culture capable of guiding our Schools successfully in the near future? What has prevented Dr. Martes from creating a Foxborough school system capable of inspiring confidence? By his own admission, Dr. Martes (and the Committee) appeared to believe that the Schools would not prosper without his direct guidance. We have high regard for the administrative team in place, is our confidence misplaced?

Members of the Committee have repeatedly expressed confidence in the administrative team and satisfaction with their work. However, Dr. Martes was concerned that the Schools would not have "a terrific start" without him. Were the comments of the Committee members based on incomplete information or ignorance? Or were the comments designed to build a public image where there was no substance to support that image?