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Banner file photo/Rose
Dr. Floriano Pavao in 2006. |
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Principal resigns
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — Dr. Floriano Pavao, the high school principal here for the past two years, has resigned suddenly, informing school Supt. Jessica Waugh he has decided to retire.
Pavao, who had two years left on his four-year contract, delivered his resignation letter to Waugh last week and administrators were scrambling to decide how to handle the reopening of Provincetown’s two schools on Sept. 3. Waugh said she would move her office, currently located in the elementary school, at least temporarily to the high school.
“The superintendent will be in the high school. The school is ready to go,” she said.
Pavao said in an interview with the Banner Tuesday that he resigned because he felt he had no other choice. He and Waugh had been negotiating how the 20-percent reduction in his hours, approved by the school committee last spring, would be organized. However, Pavao said, Waugh had not followed up on the initial conversations.
Both Pavao and Waugh took 20-percent pay cuts this spring during budget planning for fiscal year 2009, reducing Waugh’s salary to $76,000 and Pavao’s to $106,737. Pavao’s work week was cut back by 20 percent as well, from 40 to 32 hours.
“I’ve been waiting for the superintendent to bring forward a specific schedule for me and that never happened. I’ve been waiting for four months [since the pay reduction was approved],” Pavao said, adding, “I was pushed into the decision [to retire]. She gave me no other choice.”
Waugh disputed Pavao’s account of the planning for his new work schedule. She said she met every Tuesday with the principal and discussed “whatever administrators are supposed to discuss.”
“We had many, many discussions about everything, about the school day, about everything,” she said.
Pavao was eligible for a full pension last year. He was hired as the Provincetown High School principal in September 2006 but was promoted to district principal the following year, a newly created position that gave him oversight of both the high school and Veterans Memorial Elementary School. Former VMES principal Tony Teso left several months after Pavao was hired, allowing Waugh to combine the two jobs into one, a move aimed at keeping school expenses down.
However, the budget pressures that hit the entire town during planning for fiscal year 2009 continued to take a toll on the school district. So Waugh decided to cut the two administrators’ salaries by 20 percent, and cut Pavao’s hours as well.
“People don’t like their pay cut. They want their pay to grow,” said Terese Nelson, chair of the Provincetown School Committee. “Plus it was no secret we were looking to keep our administration lean. It’s hard to justify paying someone over $100,000 when you’re laying people off and you’ve got a Town Hall that needs repair.”
However, Pavao said he was never consulted about the proposed pay cut prior to the budget discussions, a move that continued to fuel his feelings of discontent.
“My biggest hang-up was the superintendent making decisions for me, particularly when it came to salary, without my input, with never a warning. There have been many philosophical differences between my position and the superintendent as far as the direction the district is taking or not taking,” he said. “The district is in trouble, not the least of which is economics.”
One of those philosophical differences, Pavao said, was over whether the school district should be restructured in a way that helped stem the continued decline in enrollment or enabled the district to operate more economically with fewer students. Pavao believed the district should seriously consider becoming more specialized, perhaps focusing on the arts or other areas of interest in the community. This specialization, comparable in style to what is called a “magnet” school, is similar to the approach taken by the existing Provincetown Academy of Arts, Science & Technology, which offers mentoring experiences to juniors and seniors from local artisans, business owners and other professionals.
As far as the hope that Provincetown’s school enrollment will rebound — a view taken by the school committee — Pavao said that was unlikely. While there are 20 students registered for kindergarten this year, there is only one student currently enrolled in the sixth grade. How many fewer students can the district sustain? Pavao asked.
“I don’t think [the enrollment increase] will happen. It seems to me if you are in Truro and the surrounding towns and hear the troubles Provincetown is having, would you send your kids to Provincetown?” he said. “To sustain a comprehensive high school at this time to me is non-realistic.”
Pavao said he would retire from school administration and not look for another job. He is eligible for a pension that equals 80 percent of the average of his last three years’ salary. He said he is “content and serene” with his decision.
“I am not bitter. My only regret is the children, their educational interests may not be in the forefront of the discussion. The discussion is often about everything but what’s best for the kids. Talk is cheap. It’s time to move on and do something,” he said.
Waugh said she would begin to look for a new high school principal, possibly on a temporary or interim basis. She said she was unsure whether she would continue the district principal role or change the job in some way.
“You have to have a principal in the high school. Maybe this is a good time to look at the whole position itself. But the schools are set to open. We have hired new teachers. We’ll get somebody,” she said.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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