Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse today called for the replacement of Gene Veno, the school district’s chief recovery officer.
In a prepared statement, Papenfuse said that he doesn’t think that Veno believes that Harrisburg schools “will meet academic benchmarks under the plan he devised.”
“This is unacceptable and compromises the future of our children,” he said.
Papenfuse said he recently met with Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq to express “alarm” at the lack of progress in improving academic standards in Harrisburg schools.
“I asked Secretary Dumaresq to replace Gene Veno as recovery officer for the Harrisburg School District to bring more energy and a new vision to reinvigorate our schools,” he said.
The state appointed Veno about a year ago to draft a recovery plan for the district, which is now being implemented. The district is buried under a debt of almost $500 million and suffers from subpar student performance.
Separately, Papenfuse urged the school board to approve the application of Key Charter School, which wishes to open a school in the former Bishop McDevitt site.
“I believe in parental choice as an essential component of educational reform,” he said. “The proposal from Key Charter provides the highest and best use I have seen for the former Bishop McDevitt building and would be a positive development for the city.”
The board has been reluctant to approve new charters, denying numerous applications over the past several years.
The city has no direct control over the school district. Nonetheless, Papenfuse has made improvement of the school system a significant focus of his new administration.
