Poughkeepsie school board might cancel finance chief's firing

The Poughkeepsie city school board might cancel the termination of its finance chief, after deciding over the summer to fire her.

A resolution on the upcoming board meeting agenda would rescind the termination of Dawn Cupano, the district's assistant superintendent for finance and operations. Cupano is the fourth person to hold the spot since 2015.

"Given this district's issues with two recent former assistant superintendents of finance and operations, this board, of which two members are new, needed the opportunity to vet Ms. Cupano," said board President Felicia Watson. "We believe she is a good fit for the district and we are looking forward to stability in the finance department."

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Meanwhile, a resolution to appoint Kathleen Farrell as assistant superintendent of human resources and professional development will be pulled from Wednesday's agenda "because all accompanying documents necessary for board review are not yet available," Watson said. Farrell's "agreement is not completed."

Farrell served as deputy superintendent of Poughkeepsie for a month. She and Cupano were hired by the previous board in mid-June.

On July 14, a new board majority — Watson, along with Trustees Doreen Clifford and Debra Long — voted to terminate Cupano's contract, abolish Farrell's position, and create an assistant superintendent of human resources and professional development. 

Trustees Ray Duncan and Randy Johnson voted against the measures, and said then they were concerned about potential lawsuits that could arise.

The district was required to give Cupano 90 days notice if it intended to terminate her agreement. So she kept working after the board made its decision in July, and has held the finance chief position continuously since she was hired.

If the board votes in favor of reinstating and continuing Cupano's employment, it will be under the terms of her original contract, which pays $135,000 a year and runs through June 2020. 

Cupano could not be reached for comment by the Journal's deadline.

When the deputy superintendent spot was abolished, Watson said the district would not need to buy out Farrell's contract — which did not have a no-fault termination provision; the position was eliminated entirely, the board president said, and Farrell would be welcome to apply for the new spot.

When Farrell was asked by the Journal, after the July 14 meeting, if she had any comment or if she planned on applying for the new position, she said: "I think the resolution speaks for itself."

As of August, Farrell was moving toward a lawsuit against the district. She was seeking $750,000 in lost wages, "plus the financial value of the benefits in the contract," according to the notice of claim filed by Farrell's attorney, Stephen Bergstein.

Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518, Twitter: @pojonschutzman