BANGOR, Maine — Two months have passed since Bangor’s assistant superintendent was placed on paid administrative leave while the school department investigates allegations that he told staff members to allow some students to alter their answers on a 2011 standardized test while he was Orono Middle School’s principal.
That investigation continues, Superintendent Betsy Webb said Monday as the inquiry entered its third month.
“We want to do this as efficiently as possible, but it also has to be thorough,” Webb said.
Attorney Daniel Stockford of the Lewiston law firm Brann & Isaacson was assigned to conduct the investigation.
Stockford has been working to gather materials from groups involved in the earlier testing investigation, including the Maine Department of Education, but “there have been requests for information that we haven’t received,” said Webb. She said she couldn’t legally elaborate on what unreceived information was holding up the investigation.
“We’re moving as expeditiously as possible and still gathering information,” Stockford said, declining to go into further detail because it is a confidential personnel matter.
Webb said the school system would come to a determination “as soon as possible” after all the materials are collected and reviewed.
Lucy’s leave started Sept. 19, the day after the Bangor Daily News published details of a 2011 report from the Maine Department of Education which found there was “incontrovertible evidence that some students revisited the [New England Common Assessment Program] test after the time permitted” and that those actions violated “clearly stated” testing rules and guidelines.
The department conducted its investigation in 2011 after Orono Middle School staff reported Lucy reviewed test booklets, some of which had been packed into boxes at the conclusion of test sessions, and marked questions students had missed or answered too briefly, according to the report. The department investigated the tests of six students, five of whom had disabilities.
Students with disabilities may be granted several accommodations for timing, setting and response methods on NECAP tests, “but none of them allows for testing beyond the testing period,” said the Department of Education report.
As a result of its investigation, the Department of Education directed Lucy, test administrators, the test coordinator and special education director to undergo training. The department also invalidated scores for some answers on four students’ tests and the entire test of one student.
The department forwarded information from the investigation to its office of certification for review. The department cannot comment on an individual’s certification status unless some action is taken and the person’s status changes, according to Department of Education spokesman David Connerty-Marin.
The Bangor school system hired Lucy as assistant superintendent in May. Webb has said she wasn’t aware of the reported testing violations or Department of Education report before September.
Lucy maintained in letters submitted to the Department of Education that he didn’t believe he overstepped his bounds and duties as principal and co-test coordinator, and that he was trying to act in the best interests of his students and school.
“I try to convey high expectations for learning to all of our school community,” Lucy wrote in one letter, “but I am not doing that because of my self-worth or our school image, but rather to try and ensure each student is given the opportunity to realize their greatest potential.”
I think it’s about time for Maine’s most celebrated Superintendent and it’s most self-congratulatory School Committee to do their jobs and resolve this.
The School Committee has nothing to do with the investigation. Also, I would much rather have such an investigation proceed slowly and methodically to reach a conclusion rather than have it reach a conclusion and then proceed swiftly to align the evidence to justify the “conclusion.”
Many times in life, decisions have to be made based on incomplete data. Elected or appointed officials who posses the ability to “make the right call” get to stay, and those who can’t don’t.
The School Committee in Bangor is bogus. It is simply a handful of people who promote their own agenda and prevent others from even being discussed. It is controlled by the Superintendent and a couple of perpetual members who are too old to even have kids in school.
Your assertion that the Committee has ‘nothing to do with this investigation’ is a clear indication of it’s impotence. If it truly provided oversight of the School Department, and subsequently the Superintendent, it would have a great deal to do with this investigation.
They under minded everything Kate Dickerson tried to do.I do not think Marc Eastman will let them walk on him.
Have you put your name in the hat to be elected? You have so many conspiracies and negative opinions about everything. Make a real change instead of being a BDN anonymous commenter.
So my comment gets flagged and removed because i spoke my peace about the superintendent. Thank god my kid is leaving Bangor completely, she will be better educated.
And meanwhile, taxpayers are still paying him to not do his job…
It would be nice to have some idea of Lucy’s salary when he was hired by the Bangor Schools so taxpayers like me can have some sense of how much we’re spending on him by now. Surely his salary is public information.
A drop in the bucket compared to all the salaries in the Bangor Housing Authority.
And good luck uncovering what exactly those salaries are. On the Maineopengov.org website, the only municipalities in the entire state that publicize their payroll and benefits are Cape E., Biddeford, and Falmouth. Must be something in the water on the southern tip of the state promoting transparency.
He made $84,154 when he left Orono (from http://www.maineopen.gov).
Wrong! He was making more than that
It is public information what salaries are paid. They just choose not to publicize it. BDN, please find this info for us.
It would be nice it the lawyer fees and his salary came out of Webb’s Salary while he is being paid not to work. Another way they waste money.
Well he was making $109,000 in Orono if that helps!
Bob Lucy gets Paided Administrative and Det. Eric Tall gets leave without pay. Whats wrong with this picture Do you think Bangor is a EOE. It just goes to show you that city hall administrative jobs are treated alot different them the rest of the city. They take care of there own and treat the rest of the city workers unfair.
The things that need to be discussed, once it’s deemed appropriate, are (a) how the search committee was allowed to have no “outsiders,” and (b) how it’s possible that (whether?) Webb and the search committee were unaware of these events. Those are most likely related. This is a direct consequence of the School Committee “leadership.”
VERY INTERESTING about Lucy’s Orono salary, which probably is even higher for Bangor. His Orono $84,154 is higher than most UMaine faculty, by the way, not that the jobs are similar. Recall that two of the top jobs at the UME System were filled WITHOUT SEARCHES so that outgoing top members of the Baldacci Admin. could continue to avoid homelessness (a joke). And others were filled with persons not ranked highly by their search committees. Maine Public Interest reporting uncovered this some months ago,and the BDN published their scathing report. No response from the System, of course.
When I Made a comment about how she always seems to lean her head to the left she leans to the right.
Perhaps you’ve spooked her into being bi-party in her political leanings. Sometimes she’s on the left and sometimes on the right. You have her on the run HB.
Haha just too funny . I do not dislike Dr,Webb I think she dose some very good things but she seems to be a bit dishonest to me about the things that need improving . Ask About the drop out rate they will say it is like 4% and hand pick a year like the 2010 /2011 school year . Wow one year the number did not look too bad . The pressure the put on parents to medicate school kids is unreal coming from someone who is not a medical doctor. Some things could use improving . It is more about themselves looking good IE. High test scores than educating the kids .If you take credit for the good things that happen them you must take blame for the not so good things . Guess it is all about politics lol . I am not fan of either party .
A better question is – why are taxpayer dollars being spent to further investigate this at all? Perhaps because when the BDN first reported this story with a scandalous headline they omitted the following information and continue to bury it. The truth will set you free…
————————————-
“The department (of Education) conducted its investigation in 2011…
As a result of its investigation, the Department of Education directed
Lucy, test administrators, the test coordinator and special education
director to undergo training. The department also invalidated scores for
some answers on four students’ tests and the entire test of one
student.”
————————————-
Investigation complete, correction made, appropriate punishment prescribed by the governing body. The Department of Education did their job and moved on to more important things, but this reporter thinks he knows better than the DOE and should regurgitate the same old story every month.
Good use of school funds, to reinvestigate additional time on 6 standardized test scores. Well done Nick McNewsless – Happy Thanksgiving!
Lucy works for the Bangor School Department. The Bangor School Department has the right to set its own standards for hiring and retaining employees. It is possible that Lucy failed to disclose the incident when he applied for the Bangor position, after being asked whether he had ever been investigated for impropriety.
And by the way, it is the reporter’s job to keep the public updated on the story.
I wish I was under investigation and got a two month paid vacation.
Anyone who thinks that this investigation will find wrong doing on Mr Lucy’s part is delusional… but as Ricky used to say…” Lucy … you got some ‘splainin’ to do “