WILMINGTON — Missing retirement funds and a superintendent on paid administrative leave have generated a lot of unanswered questions within the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union.
Superintendent Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll was placed on paid administrative leave on Monday during an emergency meeting of the WSWSU Board. The Board unanimously approved the move based on advice from legal counsel, according to minutes.
In an email to faculty shared with the Twin Valley Middle High School community Wednesday, WSWSU Board Chairperson Erika Bailey said the board voted unanimously to retain Kevin Dirth to help with "current staffing issues in the Central Office."
"Dr. Dirth is a recently retired superintendent licensed as a superintendent and principal in Vermont who has already been assisting the WSWSU with its superintendent search," Bailey wrote. "Dr. Dirth will serve as acting superintendent while Superintendent Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll is on leave."
Dirth was appointed by the board to the position on Tuesday, according to minutes for an emergency meeting. The next motion, to start an investigation into calculating the investment opportunity loss in employees' retirement plans and making the necessary employer contributions, also passed unanimously.
At an emergency meeting last Friday, the board unanimously voted to accept the resignation of WSWSU Director of Special Education Troy McAllister. The board also unanimously voted to rescind a previous motion made April 3 asking Komons-Montroll "to work remotely and to now direct her to be in person four days a week during normal business hours."
An employee who asked not to be identified said the missing retirement funds came to light April 10 when some teachers looked at their accounts and noticed contributions taken out of their paychecks hadn't been sent for the first quarter of the year.
"It read zero, so that was a shocker," the employee said. "And then the matching contributions that the district is supposed to match up to 1 percent read zero as well."
Where the money has gone, the employee said, "is anybody's guess. It's been pretty quiet. Nobody has said anything, which is pretty frustrating."
Staff also haven't been given details behind the superintendent being out on administrative leave, the employee said. The employee noted central office has experienced high turnover, particularly in the last two years.
"It's been difficult getting answers because it's always somebody new," the employee said, adding that only the business manager and interim superintendent are left right now. "I don't know why Troy or others left. There's a lot of mystery that's surrounding the whole thing."
Staff "missed a ton of interest" when no deposits had been made to their retirement accounts, the employee said.
"Teachers need answers to those questions," the employee said. "When's that money going to be put back and what about the interest? Who's paying that because we lost out on that?"
The employee called the situation "worse than unfortunate."
"There's lots of people who are angry," the employee said. "It's an embarrassment. It's shameful. There's too many people in this supervisory union that work too hard and try to do the right thing, and the carpet's pulled out from underneath us."
In the email to faculty, Bailey said the board will work with Dirth to "provide guidance and stability" for the supervisory union in the coming weeks.
"Please welcome Dr. Dirth as we work together on our shared goal of best serving all of our students," Bailey wrote.
In an email response to the Reformer, Bailey said the board would not be making "any further comment at this time." Dirth couldn't be immediately reached.
In January, Komons-Montroll announced she would leaving her post as superintendent.
"It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I will be resigning my position as Superintendent of Schools effective the end of this school year," she wrote in a letter to faculty, staff and colleagues "While I love being at WSWSU, and enjoy working with you a great deal, it is time for me to move on so I can live closer to my family."
Komons-Montroll started the position in 2018 and the supervisory union board accepted her resignation at its Jan. 10 meeting. The board is in the process of searching for her successor.
WSWSU is made up of districts with schools in Halifax, Readsboro, Stamford, the Twin Valley schools in Whitingham and Wilmington, and the non-operating district of Searsburg.
Komons-Montroll has been an educator in Vermont for more than 30 years, according to a biography onwswsu49.org. While superintendent at the local supervisory union, she served as president of the Southeast Regional Superintendents Association for three years.
Previously, Komons-Montroll worked in the Champlain Valley School District, first as lead principal of Charlotte Central School and then as a central office administrator as the director of communications and public relations. She started her career in education as a first and second-grade teacher in Underhill then served as principal of Doty Memorial in Worcester.
