Pattye Benson

Community Matters

TE School District Business Manager Pleads Guilty to DUI, Sentencing Set for January

The Tredyffrin Easttown School District business manager has pled guilty to driving under the influence.

Chester County court documents say 51-year-old Arthur McDonnell of Chester Springs was charged with a DUI and other traffic violations, including careless driving, failure to notify police of accident, injury or death, failure to notify police of accident or damage to vehicle and high alcohol level stemming from an incident on July 13, 2014 in West Vincent Township, Chester County.

Arthur McDonnell is the current business manager for Tredyffrin Easttown School District.

On September 25, two of the charges against McDonnell – failure to notify police of accident, injury or death and failure to notify police of accident or damage to vehicle were withdrawn; the case was waived for Lower Court and moved to Chester County Court of Common Pleas. According to court documents, Chester County Deputy District Attorney Carlos Alberto Barraza and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Davis are representing the Commonwealth in the case.

McDonnell was formally arraigned on October 16 before Chester County Court of Pleas Judge Jacqueline Cody. He was scheduled to appear in Court of Common Pleas in West Chester at 9:30 AM on December 15.

On December 15, with Judge Cody presiding, McDonnell entered a guilty plea to the most serious charge, PA statute 75§ 3802 (b) DUI High Rate Alcohol (BAC .10 to .16) and the careless driving charge was withdrawn.

Sentencing (IPP consideration*) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Arthur McDonnell is scheduled for January 22, 2015, 1:30 PM at the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, Courtroom 7, with Judge Jacqueline Cody presiding.

As a concerned taxpayer, I have followed McDonnell’s case for five months, since his arrest in July. Because of McDonnell’s important financial position with the TE School District, I sent an email to each of the TE School Board directors on December 1 to voice my concerns. To date, there has been no response to my email or public statement from the School Board regarding McDonnell’s arrest, subsequent guilty plea or upcoming sentencing.

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*IPP Intermediate Punishment Program

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  1. I would like to think that everyone who’s read your post has the same reaction: this is a sad story and one many of us have seen happen to a friend or family member over the years. Some of us may admit that “there but for the grace of God go I”.

    Pattye, I will make the charitable assumption that you decided to post this information – which is publicly available to those who seek it out – because you would like to see Mr. McDonnell get professional help, partly because you have a heart and partly because you rightfully expect our school district’s finances to be handled by a person with good judgment. It is important that he maintain the trust and confidence of the people he serves.

    In the holiday spirit, I hope anonymous commenters will refrain from dashing off mean-spirited judgments about Mr. McDonnell.

    Regarding the School Board’s silence, I understand that they have refrained from making public statements on the advice of counsel while this personal/personnel matter plays out. I would expect that a public statement will be issued by Dr. Waters and the Board in the near future.

    I am responding as a parent and a taxpayer – not as someone with any personal stake in this matter. I view drug and alcohol problems as personal ones that require medical treatment. I hope the District’s message is consistent to students and all District employees: get help; value your own health and safety; and don’t take chances with others’ safety.

    1. You are correct that all information contained in the post is public information and available to all.

      Yes, many of us have had friends, family members, co-workers, etc. involved in similar situations and I agree that getting needed medical help is what is important. However, the difference in this case, is that the person involved has financial and budgetary responsibilities, including the oversight of our $120 million school district budget. Beyond receiving the necessary medical help for Mr. McDonnell, the Board needs to ensure accountability to the community, including fiscal accountability and staff accountability. I hope that you are correct and that we can”expect that a public statement will be issued by Dr. Waters and the Board in the near future”. The process for handling this situation should be consistent among all District employees.

  2. What about the fact that Mr. Mcdonnnell is a higher up in a school district? What kind of example is that to the students of this district? I know first hand that Mr. Mcdonnel has more than enough money to pay for a safe ride home, rather than endanger other peoples lives. This school district needs to get a grip on community and what really matters. I do wish him the best and am sorry that he made a poor decision but someone in his position has no excuses.

  3. Pattye, I’m totally sensitive and understanding that Art may have a drinking problem, but he isn’t my child or family member, he is our districts BUSINESS MANAGER. So, having said that, why is the elected Board not the least bit concerned or communicative with our community? What would be their motivation by keeping this a secret from all us who elected them to manage our district with the highest standards of fiduciary care? I feel very concerned that Art is managing our finances, and maybe even more outraged that the board doesn’t seem to consider this a problem. Are you saying Pattye, that as a resident, the board didn’t even respond to your email? As a T/E parent, I am deeply concerned about the message we are sending to our children. The antithesis of what we teach our students. Am I missing something here?

    1. I received no response to my email to the school board dated December 1. Guess the Board and the Administration view the situation as a legal/personnel matter and therefore no response is required. However, as our elected school district officials, should we not expect the Board to publically assure us that the management of the District’s finances are in order.

  4. I find it disheartening that as a nationally ranked district we allow this behavior and tolerate someone like this as our business manager. Please fill this high ranking, well paid position to a law abiding citizen that our children and tax payers can hold with the highest regard. After all it is our tax money that does some talking here. I am thrilled you are bringing this up Pattye. Didn’t Art get a nice bonus recently?

    1. I couldn’t agree more with you. I looked at his contract and was shocked to see that the man makes $185,000 per year and receives annual increases. And he has a 5 year contract! Sure hope that taxpayer dollars are not paying for legal or treatment fees.

    2. I’ve been a follower of your blog for a long time, hope I am posting correctly because I have a question. Do we have an update on the Business Manager’s DUI sentencing. I’m concerned because a few parents at the bus stop this afternoon heard he is in prison? Is this true? Has there been a Board statement, and how can I access it? Also, because I’m home with little kids I don’t go to many board meetings, do you know when the next meeting is? Hope this question reaches you.

      1. The District’s business manager was sentenced yesterday. The public information on the Chester County website indicates that he was accepted into the IPP (Intermediate Punishment Program) and according to the website, he is currently confined to Chester County Prison. There was no indication on the length of time to be served.

        To answer your other questions, there has been no public statement from the school board so there is no link. You can access information about the school district at http://www.tesd.org

        The next school board meeting is on Monday, January 26, 7:30 PM at the high school. For agenda, click here – http://www.tesd.net/cms/lib/PA01001259/Centricity/Domain/56/January%2026%202015%20eAgenda%20Public.pdf

  5. This event has not been a big secret..I learned about it months ago from residents as well as current & retired TESD workers .
    My question is what about the impact on district employees?
    . Since 2007 there has been 2 policies in place.
    Policy #4040 drivers license suspension
    Policy #4041 obligation to report criminal offenses.
    Also Regulation #4041 has listed offenses
    #21 driving under the influence ( felony)
    #29 driving under the influence (misdemeanor)
    These rules use the term “employees” so are administrators exempt.?
    Would a worker still have a job if this happened to them ??
    Thank you Pattye for providing this forum hopefully the district will make a statement soon and answer our questions.

    1. this is not a new event for Mr.Mcdonnell, do administrators and other higher employees have to submit to background checks. I would think that DUI arrests, leaving the scene, not reporting, and so on, are misdemeanor three violations of the vehicle code. Also this may not be the first of several several teachers have been fired, and vilified in the press at t/e for alcohol problems, and not even allowed to participate in a substance program.

    2. Polar,

      Administrators, teachers and others (even parent volunteers by July 1, 2015) have to submit to background checks.

      I wrote an e-mail to District offices inquiring about this issue and this was the response:

      Section 111 of the PA Public School Code regulates the employment process for current and prospective PA school employees.

      Ask questions and write e-mails to paid and public officials. They have extreme power over our lives and it is the duty, responsibility and obligation of tax payers to watch what they are doing. It is their job to answer questions citizens have about the way money is spent and the way paid employees conduct themselves.

  6. January 5, 2015 Special School Board Meeting: 2015-2016 Budget
    The School Board will hold a special meeting on Monday, January 5, 2015 at 7:30 pm at Conestoga High School to consider making a 2015-2016 preliminary budget available for public inspection that uses property tax revenue from the Act 1 Index and allowable exceptions to the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act, in addition to fund balance, to close the projected budget imbalance of approximately $5.3 million.

    The T/E School Board and administration will continue to work towards balancing the budget and determining a final tax rate between now and final budget approval in June 2015. The T/E School Board encourages public participation during the budget development process so that the budget reflects the input of joint stakeholders. All School Board committee meetings are open to the public and have public comment periods. Meeting dates and agendas are available on the T/E School District web site atwww.tesd.net. In addition, public comments may be submitted to Arthur J. McDonnell, Business Manager, at mcdonnella@tesd.net or to the T/E School Board at schoolboard@tesd.net.

    Click here for the January 5, 2015 special School Board meeting agenda.
    2015 Kindergarten Registration Information
    For children entering T/E schools for the first time in September 2015

  7. There is a pattern of obfuscation** here that carries through to the business affairs of the District.

    Case in point: the 2015/16 proposed budget released yesterday, to which SL refers, above: http://www.tesd.net/cms/lib/PA01001259/Centricity/Domain/56/January%205%202015%20eAgenda%20PUBLIC%20STUDENT%20LIBRARY.pdf
    (pages 5 -9)

    Even after a proposed 3.7% tax increase there is a $1.8 million deficit. How so? Well, on page 3 of the presentation to be given by Mr McDonnell there is a list of assumptions. All are % increases except the two largest dollar amounts. The table lists the PSERS rates (increase worth $1.6 million, net) and the number of teacher FTEs (increase worth $1.2 million). Those are just the projected numbers, no reference to the current year. That’s actually an increase of 15.5 FTEs, nine of which are to reverse the CHS 6 period day introduced a couple of years ago.

    And, again not explicitly stated, there is an increase of more than $300,000 to pay interest on new debt that the District does not need to take on for years, given its $32 million fund balance.

    What else is being swept under the rug? Always good to check the Consent Agenda: The imminent departure of the Controller. The appointment of a new number 2 in the administration.

    **The dictionary has it right: we are “confused, bewildered, stupefied” ………

  8. The imminent departure of the Controller. The appointment of a new number 2 in the administration.
    ———————————————————————————

    Ray,

    Can you direct me to where I can read about information concerning the imminent departure of the Controller? What? Why is the Controller leaving? The timing is interesting.

    Do you know what is meant by the appointment of a new number 2 in the administration? Is Art the Number 1 in the Administration, and the Controller Number 2 so they’re going to appoint a new number 2 before they announce the departure of the first number 2?

    I’m really confused. Who is hiring the new number 2? The personnel Manager? Have they been interviewing candidates for awhile?

    1. The information about the personnel changes comes from pages 69 and 70 of the Agenda materials for 1/5/2015. I have no direct information about the reason for the departure of Mr Curtis, and Dr Gusick’s current position as Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Staff Development and Planning (as well as the scope implied by the job title) suggest that it is a good stepping stone for the top slot.

      Personnel changes are one of the Consent Agenda items which are not discussed in the public meeting. Interestingly, the Grand Jury looking at the Coatesville School District recommended abolition of this process, while the Association of School Boards has defended it:
      http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20141224_State_school_association_offers_Coatesville_more_advice.html

      My thoughts on this are that the Consent Agenda can be a helpful tool, but that depends on an independent School Board on the look-out for items of community interest and importance for the district.

  9. The Unionville Times

    Como, Donato face charges for ‘skimming’

    Grand jury report slams Coatesville Area Board of Education for mismanagement, cover-up

    By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
    CASDCharges3

    Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan details charges against former Coatesville Superintendent Richard Como and former Coatesville High School Athletic Director James Donato, as the new Coatesville Superintendent, Dr. Cathy Taschner looks on.

    WEST CHESTER — Following the release of a Chester County Grand Jury report that reads more like a Mario Puzo novel than an account of the day-to-day operations of a school district, former Coatesville Area School District Superintendent of Schools Richard Como faces 51 counts of criminal charges for allegedly running a “skim” operation to divert district funds for his own uses.

    Former Coatesville Area High School Athletic Director James Donato — a former Kennett High School football coach and who also previously worked as a substitute teacher in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District — faces 139 counts of similar charges. Both surrendered to authorities Monday and had preliminary hearings in District Court.

    Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the charges as part of a lengthy and detailed press conference Monday at the Justice Center detailing the findings of the grand jury in a 108 page report released Monday (click here to read — caution, the file contains extreme and inappropriate language related to and quoting the texts).

    “You had a superintendent and an athletic director who were running the school district like it was their own personal kingdom,” Hogan said. “Mocking, in racist taunts the very people they were supposed to be serving and stealing money from the district.”

    The report takes to task the Board of Education for failing to manage the district — and apparently cover up for Como and stonewall investigators — singling out former Coatesville NAACP president Tonya Thames Taylor for not being credible in her testimony. The report suggests that Taylor and other members were able to get jobs from the district through Como, with the implication that Como then was able to control them. The report also details an alleged web of lies by board members in attempt to deceive the public about Como’s status. The report makes a total of 13 recommendations for changes in how the district operates, many of which have been adopted already or are in the process of being adopted.

    Although the issues are now being addressed, what happened was unacceptable, district officials said Monday.

    “Needless to say, this has been devastating for the district,” said Dr. Cathy Taschner, who became superintendent of schools in June of 2014. “Corruption, racism, impropriety, incompetence, things that continued to go on for quite some time. It’s become a part of the district’s culture. Students, parents, staff members, our community, they have all suffered.”
    CASDCharge1

    Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan discusses some of the racist texts exchanged between former Coatesville Area School District Superintendent of Schools Richard Como and Coatesville High School Athletic Director James Donato.

    Como faces charges of ethic violations, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, theft by receiving stolen property and dealing in unlawful proceeds among other charges. Donato faces similar charges and additional charges related to taking kickbacks for “free” use of district athletic facilities for sporting events. The two are alleged to have taken money from various events, illegally moved money around to pay for championship rings for the 2012 PIAA AAAA football runner up team and more.

    Both were forced to resign last fall after racist texts were discovered — even as an investigation into the pair’s financial conduct, as well as that of district solicitor James Ellison was already under way.

    Additional charges may be pending against other current or former district officials, including former district solicitor James Ellison, who billed the district roughly $6.9 million in legal fees between 2002 and 2013.

    Although the grand jury sought permission from the school district to waive attorney-client privilege to allow for a more full investigation into Ellison’s billing, it has been withheld up until now. Current Superintendent of Schools Cathy Taschner said Monday that she would take the issue up with new district solicitor Mike Levin and the Board of Education as soon as Tuesday.

    In addition to the charges of of Como and Donato skimming from athletic events, sports camps, falsifying expense reports and more to defraud the district of funds, the grand jury said Como had violated various ethic laws by hiring relatives (including his son Matthew Como, as ultimately the buildings and grounds supervisor for the district) and friends, many of whom were completely unqualified for their positions, or worse, known drug dealers. It also portrayed a Board of Education largely “asleep at the switch” allowing Como and Donato to basically run the school district more like a crime family than an educational operation.
    CASDCharges2

    Hogan shows off one of the rings in question.

    The pair are charged with filing false expense reports and signing the district to deal requiring students to buy graduation and other products from Jostens — in order to cut down the price of the football rings, which look like something issued to a professional championship team.

    The report also details what it alleges was little less than an active effort to cover up the texting scandal by a majority of the Board of Education — including the then president of the Coatesville NAACP, Tonya Thames Taylor. The grand jury report suggests that Taylor’s testimony before the body — including claims that she didn’t know who her nephew was, the same nephew hired by the school district — was “not credible.”

    “The Grand Jury found many of the Board members – most notably Tonya Thames Taylor – to be deliberately obstructive and deceptive,” the report says.

    The report said that Taylor was notified of the racist texts by Theresa Powell on Aug. 17, 2013, the district Director of Middle Schools, who had been notified by Abdallah Hawa, the district Director of Technology, on Aug. 15, 2013, who discovered the texts on Donato’s phone after the athletic director turned in his old district phone for a new one. The two met with Taylor, the report says, on Aug. 16, and Taylor was allowed to read the messages.

    The report said that Taylor, Ellison, Hawa and Powell met on Aug. 17 at Scott Middle School and they again reviewed the messages. Ellison reportedly said that he needed to contact board president Neil Campbell and board vice president Robert Ritter to inform them. Ellison apparently instructed Hawa to delete surveillance camera footage of the four entering and leaving the building on the 17th.

    Hawa did not delete the footage and he saved a digital copy of the texts on Donato’s old phone, before giving the phone to Taylor on Aug. 19. Interestingly, according to district phone records, Taylor spoke with Como for three hours on the phone on the 18th — but claimed in her grand jury testimony that she did not discuss the texts.

    “According to the District’s phone records, on August 18th and in the early morning hours of August 19th (after her meeting with Powell, Hawa, and Ellison), Taylor spent approximately three hours on the telephone with Richard Como,” the report said. “Taylor insisted that she and Como never discussed the racist text messages she had just seen. The Grand Jury does not find this testimony credible.”

    Taylor and Ellison apparently hid — the report said — the source of the information, claiming to the remaining members of the board that it come from an anonymous source, Leroy Coates and not Hawa. The report seems to suggest that the district “investigation” into the texting scandal was more about covering up, and looking for ways to discredit Hawa and Powell — and even look for grounds to fire them.

    “…it appears that the primary efforts made by the informed Board members (Campbell, Ritter, Taylor, Sweigart, and Dunn) in the days following the discovery of the text messages were to protect Como and to prevent the text messages from being publicly disclosed,” the report said.

    That effort failed when Rev. Sherry Deets alerted Hogan to the contents of the phone and offered that word was there were financial issues — even though Deets had no way to know that Hogan’s office was already looking at Como and Donato’s allegedly shady financial doings.

    The report said it was only at this point that the remaining board members, Diane Brownfield, James Fox, Paul Johnson, and Laurie Knecht were notified.

    The board then appeared to have actively covered up the incident — not addressing it during an Aug. 27 school board meeting, nor when the pair resigned on Aug. 29, just as school was starting.

    Ultimately, as the texts were leaked to the media — public furor rose and an angry public demanded answers, which were not forthcoming as the board refused to address the issue during board meetings.
    Create PDF Send article as PDF
    Tags: board of education, Cathy Taschner, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, Coatesville area school district, Grand Jury, James Donato, Richard Como

    —————————————————————————–

    Thanks Ray, I have been following the Coatesville story from the beginning. My thoughts on this are that personnel changes should not be part of the consent agenda and should therefore be discussed in public meetings. The positions of Business Manager and comptroller are too impactful , and carry with them a staggering amount of power, for community members to be kept in the dark about situations and changes that can affect the financial status of the district and it’s members.

  10. The origin of the consent agenda, under Dr. Foot, was to spare everyone the tedium of reading every motion and going through the time to second, discuss and approve. It was specifically limited to the routine matters only. The policy reads (unless it has been changed) that ANY Board member may request moving a consent item to the regular agenda.
    That is different from the law that provides for “executive session” out of the sunshine…some acronym I no longer remember to include Personnel, Litigation, Real Estate…?

    As to Art McD– he and the Superintendent have contracts with the District, so his contract should speak to how he is affected by Personnel Policies. The Board in all likelihood will absolutely not make a statement on his legal problems as it would likely violate some policy or law unless it happened during work hours or on official business. And pardon my cynicism, but a DUI has no prima facia connection to alcoholism….but if the man did suffer from alcoholism, the likelihood of some “punishment” would be weakened because of privacy afforded health issues. You can certainly read his contract and the school code on the topic. But his 5-year contract, unheard of in my experience with TESD for that position, would likely trump any discussions of termination UNLESS the behavior could be classified as “cause.” See if the violation would affect his state-mandated clearances? TESD did fire a business mgr. during Dr. Waters’ time as Superintendent. The Bus. mgr. does not necessarily have student contact.

    As to #2, that is obviously to identify Dr. Gusick’s replacement…which may or may not be a step toward Supt., as Dr. Gusick was not the first person with that Title during Dr. Waters’ tenure.

  11. maybe the school board and the districts business practices including most importantly finances should have an external audit every 2-3 years…

    1. We must have confidence that our district finances are well managed. An external audit is an excellent way to make sure citizens are informed and that tax dollars are well spent.

  12. UNIONVILLE TIMES

    You are here:Home Community State Police: eight die in Pa. holiday crashes
    State Police: eight die in Pa. holiday crashes
    December 30, 2014 | 0 Comment
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    StatePoliceArtDuring the five-day Christmas holiday driving period, which took place from Dec. 24 through Dec. 28, 2014, State Police investigated a total of 728 crashes, the agency said Tuesday.

    The crashes resulted in 224 injuries and eight deaths. All eight individuals who died were not wearing seat belts. Ninety-eight of the crashes were alcohol-related and involved two fatalities.

    Troopers made 327 arrests for driving under the influence and issued 3,953 speeding citations during the holiday period. State Police also cited 357 individuals for failure to wear seat belts and issued citations to 71 drivers for failing to restrain children properly in child safety seats.

    During last year’s four-day Christmas holiday driving period, eight people were killed and 255 were injured in 900 crashes investigated by State Police.

    The crash numbers cover only those incidents investigated by State Police and do not include statistics on crashes to which other law-enforcement agencies responded.

    For more information, visit http://www.psp.state.pa.us.
    PDF Printer Send article as PDF
    Tags: crashes, state police, tickets
    Leave a Reply

    Editor/Publisher
    Mike McGann

  13. School Board Authorizes the Administration to Display the Proposed 2015-2016 Preliminary Budget
    The Tredyffrin/Easttown Board of School Directors held a special meeting on January 5, 2015 to consider the 2015-2016 preliminary budget. The School Board voted 9-0 to authorize the Administration to display a proposed 2015-2016 preliminary budget that includes revenue from an increase in the property tax rate of 3.68%. The proposed preliminary budget uses property tax revenue from the Act 1 index of 1.9%, property tax revenue from allowable exceptions to the Pennsylvania Taxpayer Relief Act of 1.78% and a contribution from the fund balance to close the projected budget imbalance of approximately $5.3 million.

    The Board also authorized the administration to provide public notice that the Board will consider adoption of the preliminary budget at its regular meeting on January 26, 2015; and to publish notice of the Board’s intent to file for referendum exceptions with the PA Department of Education. The 2015-2016 proposed preliminary budget is available for inspection at the T/E School District Administration Offices and on the District web site at http://www.tesd.net. The budget will be on the agenda at the upcoming January 12, 2015 Finance Committee meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the T/E School District Administration Offices.

    The T/E School Board and administration will continue to work towards balancing the budget and determining a final tax rate between now and final budget approval in June 2015. The T/E School Board encourages public participation during the budget development process so that the budget reflects the input of joint stakeholders. All School Board committee meetings are open to the public and have public comment periods. Meeting dates and agendas are available on the T/E School District web site at http://www.tesd.net. In addition, public comments may be submitted to Arthur J. McDonnell, Business Manager, at mcdonnella@tesd.net or to the T/E School Board at schoolboard@tesd.net.
    will be held at the T/E School District Administration Offices (TEAO): West Valley Business Center, 940 West Valley Road, Suite 1700, Wayne, unless otherwise noted. Meeting agendas are linked once they are available on the TESD web site.

    Upcoming Meeting Dates:

    Finance Committee Meeting, 1/12, 7:00 pm, TEAO
    District Safety Committee Meeting, 1/14, 1:30 pm, TEAO
    Policy Committee Meeting, 1/15, 6:30 pm, TEAO
    Regular School Board Meeting, 1/26, 7:30 pm, CHS

    Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, 940 West Valley Road, Suite 1700, Wayne, PA 19087

  14. At the January 5 Special Board Meeting, the
    Board approved the following routine
    personnel actions.

    Resignations/Retirements/Terminations:

    Jeff Curtis, controller, TEAO

    Robin McConnell, Direct
    or of Assessment &
    Instructional Technology, TEAO

    Appointments
    Stephen Cutcher, Accounting Coordinator/Clerk
    “A”, TEAO,

    Tammy Eckman, Accounts Receivable/Clerk “A”,
    TEAO

  15. Public cynicism and disdain toward elected officials and paid public officials increases and confidence in government (especially local government) slips each time something like this happens. Citizen comfort level is higher with local elected and paid officials, so disturbance like this is even more corrosive to public confidence. It is an absolute distraction for Board Members and it overshadows work like the magnitude of the financial decisions to be made when thinking about our annual budget which proposes to increase our taxes again bringing the total hike to 35% over the last 10 years.

    It’s ironic that the massive tax hikes proposed by the Business Manager are in large part due to the very generous salary, (higher than the highest paid governor in the country) healthcare cost and ballooning pension obligation he enjoys at tax payer expense.

  16. As another concerned community member, I am wondering if this type of behavior from Mr. McDonnell would be tolerated had say an Aide or Para been arrested for D.U.I. and not reporting property damage and now walking around in an ankle bracelet serving jail time on weekends. This man has been given full reign over other departments that he has no business dealing with (i.e.. Maintenance, Custodial, etc.)
    The man already ruined the Wyomissing School District when he was there, now he has come to our district and is bringing it down too.
    As community elected officials, the School board needs to step up and remove this man from power. He is an embarrassment to our district and a very bad example to our children!

    1. can you expand on your comment about Art ‘ruining the Wyomissing School District’ when he served there?

      1. WYOMISSING AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
        2004–2005
        WYOMISSING AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
        2004–2005
        Minutes
        September 27, 2004

        Approve Transition Fee for Director of Business Affairs
        Approve a rate of $365.38 per day, maximum of ten days, for Arthur McDonnell to perform
        services, if necessary, in connection with the transition between the school district’s current
        Director of Business Affairs and Mr. McDonnell’s first day of employment (December 1,
        2004) with the district.
        Background information: Arrangements such as this were approved in the past during
        administrator transition periods. As of this date, no dates are scheduled. Specific needs of
        the district will dictate using Mr. McDonnell on a daily basis prior to his approved start
        dat

        1. Hi–appreciate the follow up, Anonymous, although these types of arrangements arent that uncommon.. was there something else you felt he did or didnt do at that job which brought about your original comment?

  17. He’s wearing an ankle bracelet? For how long? Is this the standard punishment for a DUI? The information here says that he plead guilty to the most serious charge and two were dropped

    He was given full reign over Maintenance and Custodial? How long has Mr. McDonnell worked in the TESD? How long did he work in the Wyomissing School District?

  18. The public holds the highest level of trust in those it elects and those it hires to do public work. Because we know these people, it is especially worrisome. Elected officials and paid public officials should be held to a higher standard of conduct.

    Some speculate that The Board and Ruling Party would make the argument that it is a private matter and has nothing to do with his position. Even so, in my view, it compromises his ability to carry out the duties of his public job.

    The silence on this matter displays an extraordinary amount of hubris.

  19. Intermediate Punishment Program (IPP)
    General Description
    Intermediate Punishment is a sentencing alternative. The requirements and eligibility criteria of the Program are delineated in the Chester County Intermediate Punishment Plan as approved by the Chester County Prison Board. Persons must file an I.P.P. Application with the Adult Probation and Parole Department at least 30 days prior to Sentencing. The typical elements of an IPP disposition include a flat period of incarceration, fines and costs, electronic monitoring, intensive probation supervision, community service, and drug and alcohol treatment.
    Intermediate Punishment Program

    Go to:

    http://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/8813 ——– for the Chester County Intermediate Punishment Sentencing Grid

  20. What is important for people to know is this is Mr. McDonnell’s 2nd Dui in 4 years. (07/16/2014,Chester County, 2/22/2010,Delaware County) Both were over the max limit by law. The District was aware of the 1st dui, as well. He kept his nose clean until he got his new contract and than went out and celebrated! His first was expunged through the Accelerated Rehabilitation Program. If the 2nd DUI was in any county other than Chester he would have had substantial jail time. He has a problem with alcohol and should be required to remain sober in his position for the good of the District and Mr. McDonnell.

  21. Grass roots community groups are calling for stricter DUI laws in Chester County, PA, especially for repeat offenders.

    The board is stonewalling on this and adopting a strategy of silence hoping it will “go away.”

    The private character of public officials influences their decisions on the public’s business.

    I don’t believe personal character and personal judgment can be separated from the public or private choices officials make.

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