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Wilfredo Laboy to School Committee;
"Who Do You Think You Are?"
Here's the Answer;

-Tom Duggan

School Committeeman Noah Shannon is frustrated. He was appointed to the School Committees' Finance Sub-Committee, which means he and three other Board members must sign every single bill before the school department can issue payment.

Apparently, being a new member of the Committee, Noah Shannon is taking his time evaluating and signing the bills to make sure everything is on the up and up. But Superintendent Laboy, making the same monumental mistakes the previous two superintendents made. He has decided that his wishes are more important than School Committeepolicy. Instead of working with Shannon and waiting for him to sign the bills, Laboy illegally assigned another school board member to sign the bills behind Shannon's back.

Both Laboy and that other School Board member are dead wrong for going around School Committee policies.

I know there is a tremendous amount of ego that goes along with being the superintendent of Schools. Every Superintendent lets his ego get a little too big and even though Laboy is on the right track with English immersion and a number of other programs, he seems to forget the very basic function of his job.

You see, according to School Committee policy four members of the School Committee must sign each bill before the mayor affixes his signature and the bill is paid. If, for some reason, a member of the finance committee has a question about a particular bill, or refuses to sign a bill, the School Committee must take it up at their next public meeting. If the finance committee member (in this case Noah Shannon) decides he is not signing the bill, a vote must be taken by the committee to pay it and appoint another board member to sign it in his place.

But, that's not what happened last week when Shannon held up bills at the school department (which is his prerogative). Instead of going through proper procedures, Superintendent Laboy took it upon himself to overstep his authority (again) and have another board member sign the bills with no public hearing, no vote of the committee, and no authority by the city charter. And if this were the first time Laboy had done this, I wouldn't be addressing it. I am sure Shannon wouldn't be either. But it's not.

When questioned about his illegal actions by Shannon at the School Committee table, Laboy let his head grow a little bigger, snapping back at Shannon by asking him "Who do you think you Are?"

Well, Mr. Superintendent let me answer that question for you.

Noah Shannon thinks he is an elected member of the Lawrence School Committee. And, by the way, I think s too. He thinks the superintendent works for the School Committee not the other way around, and you know what? He is right. Shannon thinks he is the guy who is assigned to question, approve and/or deny the lavish spending going on in the schools. He is right about that one too.

It's about time Mr. Laboy got off his high horse and started following the rules around here. His job description is clearly defined. He has been here long enough to know that he answers to each member of the School Committee. And it's about time he acted that way. His cunning methods of skirting around the law when it suits him and playing the public relations game to cover it up is starting to get old. If he doesn't take my warning on this he is going to find himself behind the eight ball with nobody willing to help him.

There is a reason each bill coming through the school department has to have the approval of the finance committee and those reasons are obvious. The School Committeeis the eyes and ears of the public. They are elected to make sure the laws and policies are followed when large sums of money change hands. They are financially responsible for the millions of dollars that float (or should I say soar) in and out of the schools each year. When a superintendent is allowed to do whatever he wants, when he wants, without scrutiny or questions, well, we end up with theft misappropriation of funds, missing money and a whole lot of trouble down the line.

I know Mr. Laboy is not a naïve or stupid man. I know he is doing great work in some areas of education that have been neglected for years. But he has to get it through his head that he is not a king. He is not above scrutiny. And most of all his power and his actions are subject to review by every member of the School Committee.


For any superintendent to shout disrespectfully at a member of a School Committee during an open meeting is insubordination. Just imagine if you went into work tomorrow and started yelling to your boss "who do you think you are" because he was checking your work? How long do you think you would be working for him? It seems that some of our appointed officials get the attitude sometimes that they don't have to answer to anyone because they have a plush office and their names are in the paper all the time. People are always kissing their behind so they start to believe all the phony love that is thrown their way. It makes their egos grow, it makes their judgement clouded, and worst of all it makes the task of running the city that much harder.

Noah Shannon has a legitimate beef here. He is holding up bills at the school department and, whatever his reasons are, there is a procedure in place to rectify the payment of those bills if Mr. Laboy feels Shannon is wrong. I only ask that the game playing stop, the procedures get followed, and the superintendent of schools show respect for the taxpayers and the voters when addressing his bosses at the School Committee table.