School Zone

Three weeks ago, when the Board of Education approved Deputy Superintendent Folasade Oladele's resignation -- and related buyout -- Superintendent James Williams told me there would be more resignations of exempt employees to follow.

Specifically, he said: "“It’s not unusual, when a superintendent is leaving, for senior staff members to look at other options. There are some other resignations that will happen by June 30 that we will be bringing to the board.”

Did that happen?

Well, not exactly.

There are two other exempt employees who are no longer in City Hall.

One is Alexander Collichio, who had been a member of the district's legal staff. He was offered a job with a law firm in Rochester, and resigned from the district. (The district has already advertised for Collichio's replacement.)

The other is Faren Gault Wilson, who worked in human resources. Her contract expired and was not renewed. In fact, I'm told her position was not included in the 2011-12 budget -- which means that district officials knew back in May or so, when the budget was put together, that her position would be eliminated.

So that gives us a total of one resignation.

Two other exempt employees' contracts expired yesterday: Eileen Fleming and Marta Clark, both of whom work in human resources.

It's not clear what that means.

A few board members have complained about the increase in exempt employees during Williams' tenure. And many board members have complained that Williams does not seem to bother getting board approval for exempt employees' contracts -- or if he does get it, it's after the fact.

So will anything change this time around? Will the board be asked to approve new contracts for Fleming and Clark?

That remains to be seen.

And it's not the only thing in City Hall that remains to be seen.

Yesterday was supposed to be Oladele's last day. But because the control board still has not approved or denied her buyout, it's not clear whether her resignation remains in effect.

I've heard informed opinions on both sides. Some people say her agreement with the district was double-headed, meaning one half was her resignation and the other half was her buyout. So if one part was voided or on hold, the other part would be, too. Others say her resignation stands, and it's just a question of how much of a payout she'll get.

We'll find out soon enough how this is playing out.

- Mary Pasciak