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Another firing, more fallout in St. Joseph School District
March 2, 2015
By Sam Zeff
In Missouri's St. Joseph School District, they’re known as the Big Four: Fred Czerwonka, Rick Hartigan, Doug Flowers and Dan Colgan. These are the four men at the center of the ongoing scandal in the district. But in two closed meetings in as many weeks, the school board has taken action to start cleaning house.
Superintendent Fred Czerwonka was fired by the board on February 21, 2015, almost two years after he signed the contract.
Chief Operating Officer Rick Hartigan, who had been in charge of all district vendor contracts, was fired a week later.
More staff shuffle
On the same day, the board demoted Human Resources Director Doug Flowers. He has been offered a teaching contract for the upcoming school year.
These three top administrators were roundly criticized in a report from the Missouri State Auditor. All have been interviewed multiple times by the FBI, according to sources.
They all also played a role in the botched attempt to silence Chief Financial Officer Beau Musser by falsely accusing him of sexual harassment. Musser helped blow the whistle on the secret stipends paid to administrators, 4,000 gallons of missing gasoline and other irregularities.
The state audit uncovered nearly $40 million in secret payments, mostly to administrators, going back to 2000.
Recall rules for school board members
Then there's Colgan. As an elected member of the school board who was superintendent in St. Joseph for 14 years, he can't be ousted.
There is no law that allows St. Joseph Board of Education members to be recalled by voters. The board policy says if a member misses three consecutive regular meetings, the board member "shall be deemed to have vacated the position on the Board." But so far, that hasn't happened.
Missouri State Sen. Rob Schaaf, a Republican from St. Joseph, has filed legislation that would allow for school board recall elections in the St. Joseph district.
As Ballotpedia has reported, Colgan approved the $5,000 stipends to 54 administrators last year in return for a promotion and raise for his son, Mark, who manages the district’s warehouse. That promotion was criticized by the state audit because proper documentation for the promotion wasn't submitted.
Last year, Colgan hired a prominent white collar criminal lawyer from Kansas City.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo. He's won a National News Emmy for investigative reporting, four National Headliner Awards and four Edward R. Murrow awards. Zeff has managed newsrooms in Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City. He was educated at the University of Kansas.
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