Wednesday, December 15, 2004

SableGate Update

The Tribune-Review has got its teeth into the Mt. Lebanon school superintendent situation, and it won't let go:

Columnist Eric Heyl: "Mt. Lebanon handled Sable's departure much like it was a covert CIA search operation for bin Laden, only more secretive."

The Margery Sable termination agreement has been added to the list of items under review by the state Auditor General, as part of a previously-scheduled state audit of the School District.

The Trib editorializes about the audit:
The Mt. Lebanon mess should inspire every Pennsylvania taxpayer to demand complete accountability from each of the 501 school districts in the commonwealth. . . . [A]ll contracts with confidentiality clauses [should be reviewed] to ensure public funds are being used properly until the Legislature finally bans the clauses in every government contract.

UPDATE: The Post-Gazette's South section today includes a story on the Mt. Lebanon School Board meeting held last Monday night. Board members acknowledged that conflict between the Board and Margery Sable had been brewing for six months before her resignation from the district. The nature of the conflict, however, was not disclosed. The Board also noted that the separation agreement was negotiated through a lawyer other than the district's solicitor. (I looked for the story on the P-G site this morning, but I can't find it. UPDATE 7 p.m.: Here it is.) The print P-G today also has a story about hiring a new superintendent in McKeesport (the former South Allegheny superintendent) under circumstances that some people find murky. UPDATE 7 p.m.: Here's the McKeesport story.

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