District OKs hire after the fact
Joyce M. Miles
Sunday, July 25, 2026

Whether it was a misunderstanding or an example of administrative arrogance seems to be a matter of opinion.

The Lockport school board approved the appointment of 14 “assessors” to carry out the district’s summer reading program Wednesday — two weeks after the program got under way.

The vote to approve the program and the appointments was unanimous, but some acrimony unfolded behind the scenes recently after board member Clip Smith objected to the hirings as an example of nepotism and administration usurping board authority.

The board previously had put the appointments on hold because of concerns over the $15-an-hour wage that goes along with them, Smith said.

Moreover, he said, the fact that the jobs were not posted struck him as unfair to other residents who could have competed for them.

“You don’t just hire him or her and put them on the payroll,” Smith said. “Arbitrarily implementing a program without a board OK is not acceptable.”

According to program director Ryan Schoenfeld, the program has been in existence more than 10 years, no new assessors were hired this year and the jobs have never been posted.

“There are no new people,” he said. “They’ve literally been doing this for at least the past three years.”

The program is run on a set schedule every year and approval of the assessors always has been routine, Schoenfeld said.

Smith’s charge of nepotism in the hiring is born of the fact that three Lockport families are represented on the program payroll: district teacher aide Debra Walker, who has been involved with the program since it began and supplies the district with a list of recommended hires, Alison Walker and Melissa Walker; Cindra Enzinna and Elizabeth Enzinna; and Amanda Scott and Rebecca Scott.

Other assessors rehired this year were Carrie Feeley, Linda Gorski, Christine Kennedy, Deborah Mosher, James Ornella, Don Piette and Annette Wadowski-Licata.

“The kids do a good job,” Smith said of the college students working for the program. “It’s a good program. But other kids could do a good job, too.”

The summer reading program invites students entering sixth through 12th grade to read at least two books from a preferred list and complete projects to demonstrate they read and understood the work. Students who successfully complete two projects earn a 5-point credit for their report card.

The assessors determine whether the students truly read and understood the selected books. That requires them to have read the books themselves — anywhere from 30 to 50 books — on their own time, according to Schoenfeld.

“We’re not just hiring someone, we’re hiring someone who knows these novels inside and out,” he said. “We have people who have been involved with the reading program since its inception. The children of those people were added to the A list in large part because they were active as readers in high school.

“They took on the role knowing the books” and willing to read others to do the job, Schoenfeld said.

Susan Grigg, assistant superintendent for personnel, confirmed the reading assessor jobs have always been filled by recommendation rather than competitive hiring.

“Because people have to make a commitment to be familiar with these books, there’s been a tendency to go with the same people every year,” she said. “This is my first year in this job, and everyone’s telling me this has never been an issue.”

Each assessor can earn up to $550 per summer, according to Superintendent Bruce Fraser. Beyond the cost of the hires, expenses for the program are limited to adding or replenishing copies of the listed books for access at Lockport Public Library.

Last year, 1,302 assessments were performed for about 700 Lockport students, according to Schoenfeld. Most students earned the extra credit, he said, and Fraser credits the program with helping Lockport students raise their SAT scores.

The program’s success to date convinced Smith to vote “yes” on the assessor appointments despite his misgivings about the way they were hired.

“I voted for it reluctantly,” he said. “It would do no good to vote against it now. It’s under way and the program itself is good.”

Board President W. Keith McNall said the program will be reviewed at budget time next year and the job openings will be posted.

Schoenfeld said he’d welcome the transparency.

With the nepotism/secrecy charges lobbed at the program, “The people that had worked so hard to create the program are now caught in the middle. We have a great group of assessors regardless of where we are now.

“I would like to see a more formalized process in place next year,” he said. “I feel strongly about the program and what it’s been able to do.”
View Printable Story

Add a comment