Second Groton school finance director resigns in less than year

Groton — Four months after being hired, Irene Lynch has resigned as the school system’s finance director, saying circumstances have made it increasingly difficult for her to perform at her best.

“Unfortunately, due to ongoing challenges with the work environment I feel it is in my best interest to pursue opportunities elsewhere,” Lynch wrote in her Jan. 12 resignation letter.

“While I have valued my time at Groton Public School District and appreciate the experiences gained, recent circumstances have made it increasingly difficult for me to perform at my best,” Lynch wrote. “I believe a change is necessary to maintain my well-being, integrity and professional growth.”

Her departure follows that of David Fleig, who left last spring after less than year.

Fleig, who was hired after the previous finance director left for Ledyard, wrote in his April resignation letter that he planned to relocate for personal reasons, but had considered waiting until June.

At this point, however, the professional aspects of my role are simply too much and not acceptable to me,” Fleig wrote. “The slander and anguish of working through a magnitude of undisclosed issues have reached an unfair point.”

When asked about the turnover of finance directors, Superintendent of Schools Susan Austin said the school board has a lot of meetings and also that the position is not easy to fill. She said municipalities struggle to find business and finance directors, as there is a great demand for them but not a large supply.

Lynch expressed her gratitude to the business office and its support during her tenure and said she is thankful to Austin as her supervisor.

Lynch was hired in September, and her last day of employment was Jan. 31, according to Austin.

Lynch wrote that in her resignation letter that she was providing a 90-day notice of her resignation per her contract. She included a list of conditions for working the next 90 days, including a maximum work hour of 35-40 hours inclusive of using paid time off; no work on weekends, public holidays or while using time off; and a maximum of one evening meeting a week with flex time off the following morning.

Lynch directed all questions to Austin and Board of Education chair Beverly Washington and noted that although she followed the terms of her contract regarding the 90-day notification period, the school board chose not to allow her to work during that period.

Austin, though, said the contract allows the district to have the finance director continue working for the 90-day period, but the district released her from that obligation and accepted her resignation.

Austin said the district is working to hire a new finance director as soon as possible. Ray Engle, who stepped in as interim finance director after Fleig left last spring and has been assisting with an operational review of school finances over the past two years, is now helping out.

In October, the town hired PKF O’Connor Davies to conduct the review. Town Manager John Burt has said the review will hopefully flag any past issues and help determine better processes.

The school board is slated to discuss an item entitled “Discussion re: Pending Claims – Irene Lynch, at a special meeting on Monday. The discussion is anticipated to be held in executive session.

The Day filed a Freedom of Information request on Wednesday requesting Lynch’s personnel file including her contract, resume, exit interview, disciplinary actions, any union grievances filed on her behalf and any complaint she filed against school officials, employees or the school board. Austin responded that she would provide the requested documents in a timely manner.

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