CIRILLO

EAST PROVIDENCE — In a charged atmosphere Sunday afternoon, the School Committee elevated interim Schools Supt. Mario F. Cirillo to a permanent post without any discussion among board members.

The 3-to-2 vote for Cirillo, a former superintendent in the Foster-Glocester school district, was made after a failed attempt to have David W. Baker — a Vermont educator who has roots in East Providence — replace Jacqueline Forbes, who retired. There were two other applicants as well: David A. Britto, the city’s Agnes B. Hennessey Elementary School principal; and Kristen E. Stringfellow, Scituate’s assistant superintendent. All four were interviewed publicly last week, however, the board delayed the vote until Sunday.

“Yes, yes, yes,” said resident Margaret Furtado, when member Anthony DeCastro made the motion to select Baker.

She booed and shouted “moron” when member Anthony Carcieri made the motion for Cirillo.

“I will second that,” said committee member Robert Faria, who was the swing vote leading up to Sunday’s meeting. After the interviews, he said Baker and Cirillo were a tie in his book. He said Baker’s answers to follow-up questions — such as what Baker “gave up” to the Vermont teachers’ union to get the staff to pay 20 percent of their health insurance — broke the tie.

Carcieri, Faria and member Steven Santos voted for Cirillo, while DeCastro and Chairwoman Mildred Morris voted against it.

“Surprise, surprise,” resident Stephen Enos said shortly thereafter as the packed audience reacted, some with shouts, to the board’s decision.

Several residents said they believed the three Cirillo supporters on the committee had made up their minds to choose Cirillo last month when they made him interim superintendent. They say those members — Morris has repeatedly called the trio “you people” during the past couple of months — did not listen to the interviews and ignored, or “spun in their favor,” all the alleged problems that occurred during Cirillo’s nearly four years in Foster-Glocester.

The concerns include votes of no confidence in Cirillo in Foster-Glocester, and the Glocester Town Council also sent a letter to the regional committee in February 2007 that called for Cirillo’s removal. The council blamed Cirillo for overspending, a drop in test scores at the elementary and regional school levels, and an increase in administrative salaries during his three-year tenure.

“They are not looking out for the best interests of the children,” Furtado said on Sunday. “They’re not interested in what the parents have to say either. There’s way too much politics involved. They [the trio] should be ashamed of themselves.”

Sen. Paul Moura said, “I think it’s terrible. With this decision, they have doomed the children of this city to mediocrity. … It was clear that the two best candidates were Baker and Stringfellow.”

Baker, an East Providence High School graduate, was elected as a School Committee member for the city 35 years ago when he was just 18 years old. He is the former superintendent of the St. Johnsbury, Vt., school district, leading that district for nearly 10 years beginning in 1997.

When asked why he voted for Baker, DeCastro said, “What was not to like about him?”

In another conversation, Faria said, “There were positives for both [Cirillo and Baker].”

He praised Baker’s energy and called him charismatic. Faria also said he spoke to parent groups leading up to the vote and there was support for three of the four candidates. While most had respect for Britto, some didn’t think Britto had enough experience for the position, Faria confirmed.

Carcieri said Cirillo had “extensive credentials” and was “hands down, the best interviewer.”

Cirillo began in the Springfield, Mass., district — which has 46 schools — as a middle school teacher 39 years ago. He then took an administrative role as assistant principal. For 12 years, he also served as principal of a blue ribbon middle school and finished his years in Springfield as the district’s assistant superintendent. His duties there included being in charge of curriculum and instruction for the secondary schools.

“He was in a school system that was five times the size of East Providence’s school district,” Carcieri said. “And the past superintendent [in Springfield] ranted and raved about him. Plus we did extensive digging on him.”

Carcieri said the concerns in Foster-Glocester were only “allegations without any real proof.” And finally, he said the School Committee is going to give him plenty of support and hopes the city will do the same.

While the dissenters were more vocal, there were some supporters in Sunday’s audience.

“I think they made the right decision for the children,” School Committee candidate Shannon Barbosa said. “It may not be the best for the teachers, but it may be the best for the children.”

Cirillo remained upstairs in his office for most of the short meeting. He said he went downstairs to the meeting room initially and then returned when he saw the crowd.

When asked how he would handle the naysayers, Cirillo, a Bristol resident, said, “I look forward to the challenges. I look at challenges as opportunities.”

Although a contract still needs to be worked out, Cirillo’s first priority is to meet all the principals and faculty. He said getting to know them will go a long way.

“I have been doing this for 39 years,” he said while explaining he had votes of no confidence in Foster-Glocester because he took “some hard stances” with the teachers. He also said teachers should be held at a higher level of accountability and that’s what he did in that district.

Said Cirillo, “There’s been a level of negativity, but there’s also been 39 years of success.”

apina@projo.com