Burned by a Kiln: Why Mike Masko Resigned From Centennial

In the documents filed with the US District Court, Homel said she applied for the position of superintendent of schools following the resignation of Mike Masko in July 2008.

The suit alleges one of the reasons Homel was denied the position was that some board members withheld “a supportive vote because she did not conceal an illegal purchase of equipment.”

Who approved this kiln?

In a sworn affidavit included amongst the court filings, Centennial's former Director of Facilities Vic Lasher recounts how he found out about the William Tennent High School’s new kiln:

“It was winter 2007 when I got a call from my head maintenance guy asking if he should work overtime. I said why? He said because he can’t get the kiln in the door. I said what kiln? I went to the loading dock at Tennent to see what he was talking about.

“The thing was gigantic – six-feet high, five-and-a-half feet wide and made of brick. It was packed in a wooden packing crate and it weighed a ton. We couldn’t leave it on the loading dock. It wouldn’t fit in the door to the school… We’d have to dismantle it … to get the thing in the art room.

“I didn’t remember anything about this thing being ordered, and I attended all school board meetings… I was sure there was a problem because the district has to get three quotes to buy anything from $4,000 to $10,000 and anything over $10,000 has to go out for bids. The huge kiln cost approximately $23,000. Masko had contracted for it.

“I asked Tim Vail about it. He was the business manager. He got embarrassed because how did he let this go through? He wanted to send it back but there was a big restocking and shipping charge. We had meetings. [Superintendent] Dave Blatt chaired the meetings and he supported keeping the kiln.”

According to the court documents, “the kiln was ordered in June 2006 from a company in California and took six months to build. When Masko ordered the kiln for the high school, he was the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment” and “his wife was a member of the art department.”

According to the complaint, "Blatt announced his retirement in 2006, but stayed on as CSD superintendent to train and prepare Masko, the man selected by the School Board in 2006 to replace Blatt in 2007. There was no job posting. Masko was contracted as assistant superintendent in 2006 with a written promotion to Superintendent July 1, 2007."

In Spring 2008, while Masko was superintendent, Board Member Mark Miller took notice of the kiln after his child had a ceramic in an art exhibit at William Tennent High School.

“[Mark Miller] did not recall the Board discussing such a purchase,” according to the complaint, so “[Miller] asked [Assistant Superintendent Sandy Homel] about the new kiln.”

The suit alleges, “[Homel] truthfully told [Miller] that there were unusual circumstances surrounding the purchase of the kiln, which could be verified by the manufacturer.”

In an affadavit, Miller states:

“On the information provided by Homel, I conducted my own investigation into how an item costing more than $20,000 could have been purchased without the knowledge and approval of the Board of School Directors as required by Public School Code.

“As part of the investigation, I spoke with former School Directors …who were certain the payment never came before the board for approval, and confirmed the original request by Masko to purchase the kiln had been denied by a committee of the board.”

According to the court documents, “[Masko] resigned in July 2008 after the Board learned he illegally purchased the kiln without soliciting any bids.”

The complaint says "when Masko resigned as Superintendent, School Board President Mike Monahan helped him obtain a position with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit."

Masko declined the opportunity to comment on the allegations.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” he said, by telephone Wednesday afternoon. “I’m sorry.”

In a deposition taken for the case School Board Vice President Thomas Reinboth said Homel was a contributor to Masko's resignation.

In his affidavit, Lasher said, "I think Board Members Jane Lynch and Betty Huf may have partly blamed Sandy Homel for Masko’s resignation because she could work with Miller, and Miller went after Masko."

In the court documents, Centennial’s lawyers dismiss Lasher’s statement as an “affidavit from a friend, largely based on supposition and hearsay.”

The lawyers on both sides of the case have not responded to requests for comment. 

Homel’s case against Centennial is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Tuesday, August 30 with the trial tentatively set to start January 19, 2012.