Bad actions of a few shouldn't tarnish the whole

The revelations contained in the recent Putnam High School audit should outrage us all. There is no excuse for the disgraceful, dishonest practices that appeared to have run rampant among a group of employees at the school for several years. But we cannot allow the misconduct of a minority to overshadow the great work of the majority of teachers and other school staff and faculty who come to school at Putnam every day and do the right thing. Let’s be clear, the violators of our trust are much fewer in numbers than the honest employees at that school. In fact, I’m sure that none is more outraged over these revelations than they.

Arriving at the conclusions drawn in the audit report was a 13-month process. It’s important to recognize those whose hard work brought this issue to light. Principal Gil Traverso has earned my utmost respect for his courage in requesting an audit when he first suspected foul play. Mark Ianello (auditor), Ed Pikula (city solicitor) and TJ Plante (chief financial officer) and their respective teams are to be commended for sticking with it until the end without compromising the criminal investigation.

I would like to also recognize the entire staff, students and parents of Putnam High School who have had to endure unnecessary public scrutiny. As with any system failure of this magnitude, it is important to learn the lesson and ensure those responsible are held accountable. More than anything, I’d like to reassure you that Springfield Public Schools has already taken many steps (including a Corrective Actions Plan) to shore up the financial short-comings at Putnam so that nothing like this can happen again.