ORONO, Maine — Robert Lucy was met with applause Friday night as he was inducted into Orono High School’s athletic hall of fame during a ceremony at halftime of the school’s football game with Dexter High.
The honor came two days after the former Orono Middle School principal was placed on paid administrative leave from his new position as assistant superintendent of Bangor schools, pending an investigation into a 2011 Maine Department of Education report that stated Lucy told staff members to allow some students to alter their answers on a 2011 standardized test, against “clearly stated” rules and regulations, while he was principal. He had not returned messages seeking comment.
Asked at the Orono event whether he would be willing to comment on the Bangor School Department investigation or the reported 2011 testing violations, Lucy shook his head, turned and walked away.
Lucy, a 1978 graduate of Orono High, starred in football, basketball and track for the Red Riots. He went on to play football at the University of Maine.
Lucy returned to Orono High School to teach and coach, and guided the Red Riots’ football team to an 80-17 record that included four LTC regular-season championships, five Eastern Maine runner-up finishes and Class B state championships in 1990 and 1994. He was named LTC Coach of the Year three times.
When asked about his present situation he “shook his head and turned and walked away”. He knows better to make a comment as he knows he did wrong.
Why wouldn’t Bob Lucy turn away from such a question? This was a night of positive recognition, a great highlight in his life, yet cruel outsiders made him feel ashamed of something he did not do. (Proved in investigation 11 months ago). He held his high though and walked on that field. I believe this is something to be recognized. He is a professional and smart to know that anything he says to anyone about the topic will have the opportunity to be taken out of context and twisted and eventually end in print just like the previous articles. Let us congratulate Bob Lucy, as he should be.
I think you should read the report. The report does not say he did nothing wrong.
I have read the report, it states that the school AS A WHOLE needed more training on providing standardized testing.
Who was the captain of the ship? Lucy.
It’s always best not to say anything at all
I believe if a person admits their actions and apologizes it can go a long way. Isn’t that we were taught and teach children? For him to say I had a lapse in judgement and I apologize would be humble and honest action. He could retain some of his reputation before Webb throws him to the wolves.
We certainly R Losing Civility …
Yes, indeed.
Congratulations Bob Lucy. It is about time this man gets recognized for who he really is without being dragged down by bullies like the media and other low lifes sitting behind their computer screens. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Bob for awhile now and consider myself lucky. For I know that there is nobody who cares more about his family, work, and the community more than he does. I am so happy that he was able to find the strength to attend tonights event because I know that I am proud of Bob and who is he and all that he has done and I think actions speak louder than words, obviously he isn’t letting something like this change who he is and being bigger than the scum bags in the media and not saying anything and enjoying the night where he was celebrated for the man he really is despite what you all have been saying about him.
Be proud of the man you know to be a hero of a child’s game, but lets not lose track of the gravity of the situation which he placed himself in. The reporter did an admirable job pushing an issue which demands more light than football records.
The reporter is digging for more dirt…simply trying to ruin a night of celebration. Funny thing is he can keep digging all he wants, but he’ll come up dry. Bob is an honorable man who genuinely cares about his family, friends, colleagues, students, and community. After the results of the investigation, Webb will come to find she will be making a huge mistake if she let this one get away.
I guess this is why we have investigative journalist, to bring to light and help discern the truth. Lets just be thankful we have McCrea and writers like him as a public resource, and that journalism hasn’t yet been entirely usurped by drive-by-media, vapid half informed bloggers, and the twitterers of celebrity trivia.
I do not know if Nick McCrea is an investigative journalist. He should have reported the game and the celebration and added pictured of all four as they were celebrated.
This is what happened in Orono. I was there.
I wonder what are you thankful for Nick? Do you believe what he report or, do you believe what happened on the field where the four were celebrated?
Are you thankful to Nick that he did not mention the name of the others?
I am sure that you do not see how distorted is his report. Just as what he wrote about Lucy earlier this week.
McCrea was simply pleased to have a second option to sling mud on Mr Lucy.
What about us, the other three and the pleasant celebration? I am related to one of the three who was there besides Lucy. I can see that nobody should be thankful to McCrea for what he writes.
McCrea isn’t a sportswriter, so he’s not going to cover the game. The story was a follow-up on Lucy, not the Hall of Fame induction. Had Lucy responded to earlier requests to comment, I can almost guarantee you McCrea wouldn’t have been at the game so he could finally get some kind of response.
He is not out to “sling mud,” he’s doing his job to keep the public informed. Lucy, however, does not want the public informed, for whatever reason.
Truth hurts, yep.
Uh, Lucy invited the question by (A) Not responding to a request for comment earlier and (B) Making a public appearance.
Lucy was obviously being an admirable man and not letting the public take away from who he really is. He doesn’t owe the public any comments. I’m sure he is talking to the people who actually matter in this situation.
He was the school’s principal. He was a public employee. He DOES owe the public an explanation.
Kill the messenger, eh?
Nice to hear that your friend is beyond reproach or even scrutiny of any kind.
Does he also walk on H²O?
BDN was at the football game to report events as they happen. Nick McCrea forgot to mention the other three who received an award and forgot the picture of all four as
they met applause.
He wasn’t there to report on the induction. Nor does he take the photos or give the assignment to the photographer. Nor is this a solo project by Mr. McCrea. His assignment editor either told him to go there, or approved a request from McCrea to go there.
weren’t there four other people who recieved an award?? was the BDN there to cover the event and ALL of them OR was the BDN there only to harrass Bob Lucy so he can be ‘featured’ in yet another article (which of course isn’t solely about his award recognition).
Well, when you refuse to return phone calls so you can tell your side of the story, you have to expect to be asked to comment when you make a public appearance. It would be unethical for a reporter not to seek comment.
Had Lucy commented before last night, he probably wouldn’t have been questioned last night. That was his choice.
Maybe he’s getting legal advise from his brother. This doesn’t mean he did anything wrong.
At the very least, he can make a statement proclaiming his innocence.
Isn’t his brother Mrs. Webb’s sons attorney?
Congratulations, Bangor Daily News! You’re right up there with TMZ as real live muckraking journalists. Let’s see, you got fed a story by someone with an axe to grind in Orono about a situation that was resolved nearly a year ago, that you just happened to print a few days before the man is enshrined in the Orono Hall of Fame. I’m sure that was just a coincidence, though. Hey, if I make a friend on the editorial staff can I get them to print a distorted, poorly researched article about someone who I feel wronged me along the way, followed up by a blatant attack job of an editorial? And for good measure, maybe you could send little Jimmy Olson out to try and embarass that person in public, ’cause that’s what passes for “investigative reporting”? I know Bob Lucy, I’ve worked with Bob Lucy, and yes, Bob Lucy is a friend of mine, so I’m biased. You know, just like the paper. The Bob Lucy I know (and many others in the community know) is an honest, ethical person and the efforts of the Bangor Daily News and those heating up the tar and feathers are a sad commentary on both journalistic standards and the level to which some people will sink to make others as miserable as they are.
Congratulations, Bangor Daily News! You’re right up there with TMZ as real live muckraking journalists. Let’s see, you got fed a story by someone with an axe to grind in Orono about a situation that was resolved and corrected nearly a year ago, that you just happened to print a few days before the man is enshrined in the Orono High Hall of Fame. I’m sure that was just a coincidence, though. Hey, if I make a friend on the editorial staff can I get them to print a distorted, poorly researched article about someone who I feel wronged me along the way, followed up by a blatant attack job of an editorial? And for good measure, maybe you could send little Jimmy Olson out to try and embarass that person in public, ’cause that’s what passes for “investigative reporting.” I know Bob Lucy, I’ve worked with Bob Lucy, and yes, Bob Lucy is a friend of mine, so I’m biased. You know, just like the paper. The Bob Lucy I know (and many others in the community know) is an honest, ethical person and the efforts of the Bangor Daily News and those heating up the tar and feathers are a sad commentary on both journalistic standards and the level to which some people will sink to make others as miserable as they are.
Are you suggesting the Bangor Daily should have held off publishing the story until after Orono recognized Lucy? The paper has an ethical duty to report what it knows, when it knows it — regardless of who the subject is. Whether a principal tampered with tests or ordered tests to be tampered with is a matter of public concern. It MUST be reported.
” a situation that was resolved and corrected nearly a year ago” … and it gets resurrected and printed now — why?
Because now is when the Bangor Daily found out about it. As I said, the paper has an ethical duty to report what it knows, when it knows it .
Fixed?? He invented a time-machine, went back in time, and prevented himself from having special ed students compelled to cheat by their principal? Yet another example of an ‘everybody’s All-American’ coddled by a town due to athletic success, walking through college on the same “laurels”, becoming a “teacher”, and then an “administrator”. Honor a true teacher Orono, rather than your scofflaw.
Indeed, has known Bob for a few years. This is all political.
How is forcing special ed students to cheat, and falsification of attendance records political? I’d love to hear how this is politics, and why Bangor was *used* to give the guy a ‘golden parachute’.
When someone does something wrong, most times there is a motive. The motive here, according to the information we have been provided, is that bad test results will reflect poorly upon the school. He was the principle of the school, so a bad reflection upon the school would also be a bad reflection upon him. So, there seems to be a motive.
If he did this, and according to the Maine Department of Education investigative report, there was “incontrovertible evidence” that he did, he sets a very poor example for both his students and his subordinates. He allowed cheating to take place. If a teacher or a student was caught cheating, stealing, or whatever after this, how could he discipline them? After all, the example had been set by the principle.
I don’t fault Mr. McCrea or the BDN for publishing this report. I think they have better things to do that run around and make up stories about people to hurt their careers. What I do fault is people running around trying to justify, or cover up, the bad actions that some people do. I don’t believe being someone’s friend lends any credibility to one’s opinion. It just clouds one’s judgment.
In the end, Mr. Lucy will probably apologize and tell us that he only had the children’s best interests at heart, but now he knows it was a mistake. I’ll bet that he truly is sorry…that he got caught.
It is a very curious chronology. This situation happened nearly a year ago and had been rectified by the school when they self-reported. Suddenly, days before the Hall of Fame induction, the BDN prints the story. Had their cub reporter been dilligently working on it for the past eleven months? Did the DOE send out a press release with highlights of the past year? Or did someone with an intimate knowledge of the Orono School Department place a little call to grease the skids, maybe to a friend on the newspaper staff? Who else but someone inside would even know there had been an issue? And was that call made in the best interests of any students or to simply smear a man’s reputation? One more thing, the word “cheat” is not used in the report. The BDN added that little emotion-booster themselves with their completely fair reporting.
I have a hard time figuring this out. Some people seem to be more upset that this story has been made public, than the fact that this man apparently did something very wrong. Who cares how it got out. It should have been made public when it happened, but for some reason it got swept under the carpet. You can only hide bad things before the skeleton comes out of the closet. Take a minute and think about what he did. Can you condone it? If he wasn’t your friend, would you be supporting him and his actions? I don’t think so. I’m sorry your friend did something wrong and got caught, but it is his fault. Not the fault of the reporter, or anyone else. To bully this reporter around in public is not a lesson we want to teach our children. He’s just doing his job.
Mr. Lucy should have made this situation known to the Bangor School Dept. during his interview process, so when it came out (these things always do), it would have not been such a big surprise. A smart person once said, “the cover up is worse than the crime.”
I’ve said all I am going to on this subject. It’s now up to Nancy Webb to figure out the rest. Good luck to her.
Agreed. As a Bangor resident, I think that if this fellow was so much “beyond reproach”, and “ethical”… he would have already resigned. If he wants to resuscitate his “coach administrator” career, he should do it not proximate to the town he was caught red-handed in. Failure to disclose is cause for termination. That he hasn’t already resigned, and instead is drawing a salary from Bangor, awaiting Betsy Webb to have to do the ethical thing… is a better sign of just how “ethical” he is.
Rich, you are an administrator. Are you saying you would do the same exact action and not blink an eye? You know it is wrong as it skews the norming of the test. You know better, don’t you?
Mr non-Civility,
You continue to spew speculative vomit all over this topic like you know what must have happened at every turn of this situation. This is a pattern of behavior.
It is such a blessing that you are no longer in the public school system. You come off extremely bitter about the fact that Bob Lucy has had a tremendous influence over literally thousands of students and hundreds of coaches, teammates schoolmates and colleagues.
Your attempts to get people to post specific examples of boorish behavior by Mr Lucy have only resulted in 2-3 angry parents – not too shabby for a middle school principal to only upset a few parents in nearly 3 decades at the school… You must be disappointed. Your cowardly personal attacks are more disturbing and less ethical than anything I’ve read in this case.
Hope you stay retired but become a much more productive member of society. Please seek treatment.
Rich – I think your crimson colored glasses are blocking your ability to see objectively!
A principal’s involvement in cheating is a matter of great public interest. It is irrelevant whether the school district disciplined Lucy. The motive behind the tip is also irrelevant. What is relevant is what the Department of Education report said. And it said it was clear cheating had taken place, with ample evidence that Lucy orchestrated it. The public has a right to know what’s going on inside of its schools.
Not only that… he was forcing *special ed students* to retake an exam. Preying on the weak. Why didn’t he force *all* his students to retake parts of the exam? Why did he order his secretary to change the attendance rosters to show the students as absent? Fraud.
Right. He used special education students to try and escalate his school’s scores. He used the test coordinator and two special education teachers to do his deed to redo the test. He used the school secretary to try to cover up his actions. On and on, he manipulated people from the students to staff members. This was not one innocent oversight, Lucy clearly showed his intentions by his actions.
Dept of Ed report cited “testing irregularity” not “cheating”. He wasn’t filling in the test answers or putting them through the shredder.
The testing coordinator made a mistake by ending the testing period without letting the Special Ed students complete their tests. Why weren’t the tests completed? The six tests identified were adjusted and the principal was cited.
This is a witch hunt.
The good old boys club lives on. The fact that you can state that he is an honest, ethical person even though the report released from the state identifies that he cheated isn’t any better than what you are claiming the BDN did. Your message is “He is above reproach”. I remember that being an issue recently with another public figure. He jumped off a bridge.
Those who have friends and children who dealt with your hero in his capacity of Orono Middle School Principal and whose kids may have among those whose test answers were changed have a very different story to tell. The timing is indeed curious with Mr. Lucy receiving induction last night. But do recall that the Boy Scouts gave “Rev.” Carlson their big award last fall a week before his own “fall” despite countless suspicions over the years of his own misbehavior. Obviously two entirely different contexts, but still “timing is everything.” Don’t assume that Mr. Lucy is Orono’s Mother Teresa unless you know the whole story–and who does? I don’t. Innocent, of course, until proven guilty.
Rich-
Do you think Bob did the actions attributed to him in the Maine Department of Education report or not? Your answer spends a lot of words dodging this basic question. If you believe he did NOT do the actions why don’t you simply state that? Or is it that the actions just are not very serious or unethical? I don’t understand the point of your post aside from trashing the messenger- and I’d like to. Please clarify – thanks.
Wish I was on paid leave.
What Mr. Lucy is claimed to have done as a principal in Orono is a very serious breach of professional ethics. One that if found true will result in some serious legal action and put him out of the education business for good.
Having officials and or the community choosing to hold Mr. Lucy up high on a pedestal (for their children today and in the future) in the same week that these allegations have come forward is quite frankly mind-bending. Logically, such an honor could have been held off for another year, say AFTER (if possible) his name has been cleared. Or is it that the culture up there in Orono is such that major lapses of ethics are meaningless anyways when compared to winning or even being shown as better than others even if they need to cheat to attain such status?
WHY is there usually a scandal attached to an honor in this society? Oh, that’s right– so the media can tug people around and ruin their reputations, whether they’re guilty or innocent (so they can, you know, sell stories).
So you’re suggesting the news media should embargo stories that could reflect negatively on people about to receive an award? That would call into question what else does the paper know and is not telling us about every other thing we read.
The Bangor Daily did not make this story up. Read the report.
I think you’re just mad that some people no longer think so highly of Lucy. That’s not the fault of the newspaper, which is simply the messenger. So far, nobody has disputed anything the paper has reported on this issue.
I don’t agree. A political scandal does not negate all that Mr. Lucy accomplished as both an athlete and a coach. Being guilty of trying to make your school academic score better should not rise to the level of ruining a man’s public life. Especially one with an outstanding record. Try to refrain from casting aspersions before all information is made public and let justice take its course.
That’s how it goes buddy, time and time again when you cross the line ethically. I am glad we still have people who believe in honesty, ethics and integrity and are speaking up here.
Yeah, like the guy says “outstanding record”, because football wins and a “winning” record is more important than integrity of attendance records reported to the state DoE for compliance with regulation, for the integrity of those poor special education students who were forced to retake parts of exams, and for the integrity of school teachers being forced by their superior to falsify records and manipulate special ed studens, staff being forced by their superior to falsify records… etc. Some record!
Schools and politics goes hand and hand. Back in may Bob went to the newspaper. Bob had his brother involved. I had a simular situation in Jacksonville florida. I had a law suit going with the Duval County School System. I also went to the Newspaper. it was obvious my kids were not welcome in the schools anymore. The teachers were so afraid of me, that I was going to bring them into this mess which I was not going to do, I respect teachers not the politics. And the teachers started giving both my kids straight A’s on everything when I knew they didn’t deserve it.
If Bob didn’t go to the paper we would not be having this discussion today. Bob did an excellent job up at Orono. He was an excellent adminstrator, and he loves the kids and the football. What you have is someone who hates the politics.
So Lucy went to newspaper in May you said. Why? Did the newspaper follow up? Was he trying to keep the paper out of reporting? What his and his lawyer brother’s purpose?
Conduct code for students @ Bangor schools and UMaine in regards to cheating?
Hard to
know what is going on here. From what’s been reported, Mr. Lucy spent a weekend
going over the tests. He identified sections of six student tests that were
incomplete. Five of those were from “challenged” students. Aside from
the obvious aspect of not following “procedure,” how much could that
move the needle in terms of an overall score for the school? How many students took the test? Have to look deeper into the weeds. What was his motivation for reviewing every
single test? This show an incredible
level of involvement in what was going on w/in that school. For better or worse? I do not know. What I do know is that the entitled,
connected, & well paid Superintendent of the Bangor school system will throw him under the
bus @ the slightest provocation. For
that reason, I truly hope that Mr. Lucy gets a fair hearing.
I think this is poorly written. If you are going to write a story about the investigation, then write one. If you are going to write a story about Mr. Lucy being inducted into the Hall of Fame, as the headline indicates you are, then write that. This story seemed to be more focused on the investigation then on the honor being bestowed upon him. Poor job.
A copy editor writes the headline.
Obviously, people making positive comments have never worked FOR the man. The faculty in Orono are the ones with the integrity, taking the courageous step in reporting this behavior to the state. THEY are the heros here.
I cannot believe what they had to put up with and go through. I have seen it before and it is very stressful. Sure they do not miss him.
Indeed… can you imagine as a lifelong teacher, being ordered by your principal to force special education students to retake an exam that was supposed to have already been sealed and sent off for scoring? Can you imagine what that teacher’s supposed to say to these students? That the principal knows they’ll do what they’re told without knowing it’s wrong? Forcing kids to cheat. Lovely, isn’t it? How “courageous”. Unfortunately for them, they can’t speak up: the town WORSHIPS this guy, because he was their “all-American”.
I would like to know why there was not recognition and a picture of all of the hall of famers? Why did this have to be entirely just about Bob Lucy. I know several of the hall of famers, including Bob, David Paul, David Gonyar and Steven Gardiner… it would have been great to see a picture of all of them on this day of celebration for all their efforts – including Bob as he deserves to be there. The issues surroundng Bob at the moment could have been addressed in a separate article on another day.. It is obvious to me Mr. McRea wanted to make Bob uncomfortable during this ceremony… and in-turn it took away from what all the hall of famers earned.
I agree RK, this is old news being dredged up to ruin the award for Lucy based on a personal vendetta. If an administrator or anyone else makes a mistake in their job and is punished by their governing body a year ago why is this news?
The article states the corrective action taken by the Dept of Ed: Orono’s test scores were adjusted down and the school administration was punished according to what the Dept of Ed deemed appropriate. This information is buried in between the sensationalized headlines and spin job by Bangor’s newest tabloid reporter wanna be.
I highly doubt that the worst thing going on in the Bangor and Orono schools revolves around SIX test scores on the 2011 NECAPs… Get a grip on reality people! If this is the worst thing in the Orono school system then I would say Bob Lucy must have done an exemplary job running that school. Yes, he made a mistake and was cited with “testing irregularities”. And all of a sudden the BDN gossip reporter and all these wild conspiracy theorists want to lynch this person who has devoted 30 years to the school and community.
Congratulations Mr. Lucy on your honor – you deserve better. And thank you Rich for adding some much needed common sense to this web page. Nick, hopefully someone takes a good look into your background and reports equally as irresponsibly as you have. Best of luck with the Bangor National Enquirer.