Pa. education secretary ousted over 'unflattering' behavior
Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG - Even before he could be confirmed, acting Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary William Harner has resigned from the Corbett administration.In a terse statement Monday, Gov. Corbett said he asked for and received Harner's resignation. The governor did not give a reason.
According to three sources familiar with the matter, Harner's nomination was being pulled because further background checks unearthed what was described as "unflattering" behavior during his time running the Cumberland Valley School district just outside of Harrisburg, his most recent position.
Harner, a retired Army officer turned educator, could not be reached for immediate comment.
In his statement, Corbett said Carolyn Dumaresq, the department's executive Deputy Secretary, will serve as acting Secretary of Education, effective immediately.
Corbett named Harner in mid-May to replace former Education Secretary Ron Tomalis. At the time, The Inquirer reported that among the reasons for Tomalis' departure was behind-the-scenes tension between him and some members of the governor's inner circle.
Before joining the administration, Harner, a onetime Philadelphia school district administrator who grew up in Cheltenham, held the top job in Cumberland Valley, one of the Harrisburg area's largest districts, for nearly five years.
He has an extensive background in public school administration, and his career has had its share of controversy.
Harner ran the Greenville County, S.C., school system from 2000 until 2004, when he resigned before his contract expired. According to newspaper accounts at the time, he was criticized by school board members and others for a controversial timber sale, in which he raised money to start a lacrosse program by selling trees from lots being cleared for district construction projects. He also clashed with parents over changes in school schedules.
He was credited with a number of successes in the South Carolina district, including raising students' test scores.
Harner went on to the Gainesville, Ga., school district, and then to Philadelphia, where he was a special assistant to Vallas and later a regional superintendent.
In 2007, the Toledo, Ohio, school board chose Harner to lead the district. The Toledo Blade reported that he withdrew from contract talks after some board members objected to his proposal to live outside the district and send his daughter to private school. The newspaper said e-mails showed Harner's attorney had asked about whether the district would pay the daughter's tuition. Harner said he had never wanted the district to pay her tuition.
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William Harner being removed as Pa. acting education secretary, sources say
By Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com
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on August 26, 2013 at 12:51 PM, updated August 26, 2013 at 12:52 PM
Less than three months after being named as acting state Education Secretary, two sources have confirmed that William Harner is being forced out of the post in Gov. Tom Corbett’s Cabinet.
View full sizeTwo sources confirm that former Cumberland Valley School District Superintendent William Harner's stint as acting education secretary is ending less than three months after it started.
Harner is the former Cumberland Valley School District superintendent, a position he held since 2008 until being selected as a replacement for Ronald Tomalis.
Tomalis was abruptly removed as education secretary in May and assigned to a newly created higher education special adviser position.
A source close to the situation said a background check on Harner uncovered a matter that occurred during his time at Cumberland Valley that led Corbett to ask him to step down. Efforts to reach Cumberland Valley School Board President Barbara Gleim for comment was unsuccessful at the time of this post.
More details will be forthcoming.
Thanks, and WTF?
"Tomalis was abruptly removed as education secretary in May and assigned to a newly created higher education special adviser position."
Harner & former Sen. Larry "Wide Stance" Craig should meet in an airport restroom somewhere if they haven't already.
It time for Corbett and all his knucklehead buddies to get out of Harrisburg. They don't want to fund Education but they want to make major changes to Graduation Requirements and Testing. If they don't want to fund schools they shouldn't be giving them new mandates.
You said it.
Have we considered putting Fracking wells on school property?
That may be the only thing that gets that tool's attention.
Was a locker room involved?
Corbettt wants to fund schools. Charter schools and private schools. With public money.
Harner for Morrisville superintendent. Or maybe police chief.
Why not both?
According to three sources familiar with the matter, Harner's nomination was being pulled because further inquiry exposed a complaint lodged against him during his time running the Cumberland Valley School District just outside of Harrisburg, his most recent position.
Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the matter involved an e-mail Harner sent to a male administrator earlier this year, allegedly asking him how he looked in a Speedo bathing suit. The employee was on vacation at the time and later filed a complaint.
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The district official said a male administrative staff member, while vacationing in January or February, received an email from Harner inquiring how he looked in a Speedo. The comment led to a complaint being made to the district’s human resources office, the official said.
The human resources office conducted an internal investigation. The board then hired a law firm to conduct a separate investigation, the official said.
This outside probe brought out 15 to 18 other allegations from district staff that the official described as “awkward comments.”
The law firm concluded that Harner had chosen his words poorly and exhibited bad taste, but found no violation of laws, district policy or regulation. The official described the process as a “witch hunt and a bitch session” for people who nursed grudges against Harner.
Nonetheless, the allegations had caused enough trepidation about Harner for a majority of board members to sway them to not support renewing his contract after it expired in June, reversing their January action, the official said.
Bill Ferrara for PA Education Secretary
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