PAYING ATTENTION!
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Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy
Has Proven He Can ‘Talk the Talk’,
Now he must ‘walk the walk’
published in Rumbo 11/15/00

-Tom Duggan

Lawrence School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy is now driving around in an unmarked police car, complete with sirens and lights. He told the Eagle Tribune that he didn’t understand what all the fuss was about concerning the car because big city superintendents get similar perks all the time. Well, here’s a little news flash for our new Superintendent; this is not Boston or New York! We are not a big city. Lawrence is six, let me repeat, six square miles in diameter. And since Laboy has told us that he lives in South Lawrence it is a waste of money and an abuse of power to let him speed around town in a brand new unmarked police cruiser while our police officers are fighting for better equipment, our children need updated text books and our high school still has not regained its accreditation.

Three years ago when Suzanne Piscitello was first elected to the school board she pounded her fist in a dramatic rage every time the name of Jim Scully came up. "How dare he ride around in a city vehicle and charge the children of Lawrence for gas expenses while our high school falls apart and our children don’t have pencils" she yelled one evening. Another night she listed all of the perks that Scully had "enjoyed" saying he was "stealing our children’s education away from them by helping himself to a life of luxury."

"We paid Mr. Scully a hundred thousand dollars a year," Piscitello said at her very first meeting back in 1997 "he should have cared enough about our children to buy his own car and pay for his own expenses instead of passing that cost on to our kids. When every kid has adequate text books and Lawrence High has regained its accreditation then we can think about giving perks like this to our superintendent not before!"

Well, it’s a different story now, isn’t it? Where is the outrage on the School Committee from people like Suzanne Piscitello over Laboy’s fully packaged undercover police cruiser? Does every kid in the Lawrence public schools have updated text books? Is Lawrence High School accredited once again?

It seems to me that Wilfredo Laboy is a capable and educated man. He has come into our troubled schools saying English should be our number one priority. He says there will be no more excuses for failure. He tells us that the administration needs to be trimmed down and made "meaner and leaner." He says that the money spent on education "must be spent primarily in the classroom." He has even taken a bold and wonderful step towards putting the teacher’s union in their place. He certainly knows how to talk the talk.

On the other hand, we are already seeing signs of the ghosts of superintendents past. Laboy says he wants a leaner administration yet then tries to create a new position in his office. The position will pay over a hundred thousand dollars a year with the same job duties as an assistant superintendent. But here’s the hitch, if he calls the position "assistant superintendent" the School Committee has to approve it, so he just gave the position another name and expects to get away with spending $100,000 for a new job while he has imposed a hiring freeze on everyone else.

Laboy has also accepted the luxury of this new police car, whether out of ego gratification or lack of good judgment it is appalling to think that we fired a superintendent for spending money on bag pipes for the high school band (on students) but our new superintendent has the permission and authority of the chief to ride around our six square mile city with sirens and lights. It is shocking to think that the school committee held hearings questioning meal receipts for Mae Gaskins because she billed the city for a dinner with her husband, yet Mr. Laboy is not held to the same standard.

"Abuse, abuse, abuse!" Suzanne Piscitello said pounding her hands on the School Committee table when she found out Scully had purchased canoes for the students’ summer boating program. Where is her outcry now? Where are the demagogues of Lawrence politics who railroaded Jim Scully claiming he had made "lavish expenses to the detriment of our children?" Wilfredo Laboy does not need lights and sirens in his car for any reason. There is absolutely no justification for this abuse of the public’s property and money. There is no emergency which would require the Superintendent of schools to be running red lights and blaring a siren.

What’s worse, is that Laboy seems to have a real understanding of how to fix this school system and what he needs to do to get the job done, but this will be overshadowed by the pattern of his behavior at such an early stage of the game. He has shown from the beginning that he can talk the talk, but Lawrence needs a superintendent who can also walk the walk.

For the betterment of the school system and to prevent any appearance of waste and "lavish abusive expenses" Wilfredo Laboy should politely thank Mayor Dowling for her outrageous offer and then say "but I can afford to buy my own car with the $175,000 (with perks) you are paying me."

It’s called teaching by example. And if Mr. Laboy does not have the courage or integrity to do that, we should hold the School Committee responsible for not standing up on this issue. Especially those who faked outrage and called for the firing of Jim Scully when he spent money on bag pipes and canoes for after school programs for kids.

Let’s see who has the character and integrity to do the right thing here. I hope it is Mr. Laboy, because actions speak louder than words. So far, all we have received from him are words. Now we are watching his actions. Let’s see how he responds.