Vernon school board rescinds Barbara Decker’s appointment after conflict of interest claim

Vernon. The Vernon school board agreed with Superintendent Karen D’Avino’s recommendation to rescind the appointment of Barbara Decker as the district’s new business administrator, after a former board member cited Decker’s conflict of interest.

The board appointed William Sabo to serve as interim business administrator through Jan. 31, 2022. He will be paid $125 per hour starting Nov. 2, when the current business administrator, Theresa Linskey, leaves the district. The board also approved paying a $1,000 weekly stipend to Pamela Kachur for managing the business office through the same time period.

Bill Higgins, a former school board member, had told the board it was wrong to appoint Decker because her family owns Decker Transportation, a business on Vernon Crossing Road that provides busing services to the district.

In response, the school board on Oct. 14 approved a change in the business administrator’s job description to remove all responsibilities with regard to transportation. At its meeting last week, the board reinstated the business administrator’s previous job description, including oversight of transportation.

The school board agreed, in an 8-0 vote on Oct. 7, to appoint Decker as the district’s new business administrator starting on Dec. 9. Her contract would have run through June 30, 2022, at a prorated annual salary of $175,000.