Superintendent Czerwonka skips dismissal appeal, quits St. Joseph
May 4, 2015
By Sam Zeff
It was a bizarre end to a rocky tenure as superintendent of Missouri's St. Joseph School District.
On the night of May 2, 2015, Fred Czerwonka abruptly quit. But instead of sending his resignation to the school board president, a board member or someone at district headquarters, Czerwonka sent his letter to the St. Joseph News-Press. "I hope my resignation can allow the District to move forward with the hiring of my successor. I look forward to continuing the good work I have been put here by God to do," Czerwonka wrote in a letter addressed to Board President Brad Haggard.
However, Haggard and everyone else on the board only saw the letter after it was posted on the News-Press website.
The board fired Czerwonka, who was only superintendent for two years, back in February 2015 after a state audit uncovered up to $40 million in mostly secret stipends paid since 2000, nepotism and a lack of overtime control.
But Czerwonka's contract allowed him 90 days to decide whether to appeal his firing. That deadline was approaching and, until Friday night, nobody on the board knew what Czerwonka was going to do. Most expected him to demand a hearing.
Board member Kappy Hodges says now with Czerwonka gone the district can start searching for a new superintendent. "There won't be a hearing so now we can move forward with hiring a new superintendent. That's all we really want to do."
The St. Joseph District, which serves approximately 11,000 students, has slowly been moving past many of its numerous issues.
In addition to firing Czerwonka, the board has also fired Chief Operating Officer Rick Hartigan and demoted Human Resources Director Doug Flowers. Last month, it settled a slander lawsuit with Chief Financial Officer Beau Musser for $450,000.
But problems remain. Top jobs need to be filled, there’s the ongoing FBI investigation, and interim superintendent Dr. Jake Long will leave at the end of this school year to take the superintendent position at Mountain Home Public Schools in Arkansas.
Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR in Kansas City, Mo. He's won a National News Emmy for investigative reporting, four National Headliner Awards and four Edward R. Murrow awards. Zeff has managed newsrooms in Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City. He was educated at the University of Kansas.
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