Bike journey next challenge for school superintendent.

Byline: Bill Fortier

AUBURN - Now that his one-year term as interim superintendent of schools is over, William E. Allen is riding off into the sunrise.

Or to be more specific, Mr. Allen, whose last day on the job was Monday, will be riding into the sunrise Aug.2 for his second Pan-Mass Challenge, in which bicyclists ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown.

Mr. Allen, who declined to state his age other than to say it's a "state secret" and that he is old, went to his 50th high school reunion about two years ago where he found out that 30 percent of his classmates had either died, were fighting or were in remission from cancer. He decided then to train for the Pan-Mass challenge, which raises money for cancer research and treatment.

In an interview last Friday at the Randall School before he left to pick up his bicycle that was being repaired, Mr. Allen, who also said he enjoys fly-fishing, said he plans to put more than 1,000 miles on his bike during July, leading up to the Pan-Mass Challenge.

Mr. Allen, who lives in Bolton, is a retired superintendent of schools in the Westminster-Ashburnham School District. He said he hopes his time in Auburn brought some stability to a school system that in recent years has seen a spinning wheel of school chiefs.

Mary Ellen Brunelle, who was principal of the Byrn Mawr Elementary School before becoming associate superintendent of the Tantasqua-Union 61 School District, took over as superintendent of schools yesterday.

Mr. Allen said he and Mrs. Brunelle talked mostly about curriculum for about two to three hours every couple of weeks since she was appointed several months ago.

"We talked about curriculum and a number of other issues," Mrs. Brunelle said yesterday. "Bill is such an outstanding resource. He's really just kind of filled me in. When he was interim superintendent he didn't sit back and maintain the status quo. He said one of his goals was moving the school system forward and he did a really good job of doing that."

Before becoming interim superintendent, Mr. Allen worked as senior management consultant for Future Management Systems in Beverly, which provides services for school systems that have problems with, among other things, administrative stability. Since Patricia E. Martin retired as superintendent of schools after the 2001-'02 school year, the school system has had two permanent and three interim superintendents.

"Auburn was the poster child for that," he said, referring to administrative instability.

Mr. Allen, who said he isn't interested in another traditional superintendent role like the one he just completed in Auburn, looked at the local job as a real challenge.

"This was a real interesting opportunity for me, professionally," he said. "I saw my role as getting everyone pointed in sort of a metaphorical northern direction."

Mr. Allen, who said he intends to resume consulting for Future Management Systems, noted that research has shown school systems that have strong, stable administrations turn out better students. He also said Auburn, as well as other school systems in the state, are fighting through a time of diminishing financial backing.

"We want to get it right, but we don't," he said of education in the state.

In Auburn's case, while the high school's athletic teams have been on top of the Southern Worcester County League in recent years, its MCAS scores have been near or at the basement.

"If MCAS scores were used as a measuring stick, we'd be calling for the coach's head," he said.

Mr. Allen stressed that the school system has top-notch teachers but he added that the town has to make a commitment to provide more financial support.

Last fall, town officials and residents produced a strategic plan that mapped out the best way Auburn graduates can compete in an increasingly complicated, technology-driven world.

Along with other administrators, teachers, parents and town officials, Mr. Allen worked on the strategic plan, which was adopted by the School Committee. But many aspects of the plan were not funded and Mr. Allen said that perhaps he could have done a better job in presenting the School Committee's case at the annual town meeting.

"I was saddened by it because of the potential impact on the kids," he said.

Mr. Allen said compared to other towns in the area, Auburn has a low tax rate.

"It may be a few cents more on the tax bill, but we can afford it. I think it's a big issue for this town," he said.

School Committee member Wayne C. Page, who said that during the first three-quarters of his tenure Mr. Allen provided him information he wanted on several issues, agreed with Mr. Allen's assessment of his actions at the annual town meeting.

However, during the last few months, Mr. Page said, it was harder for him to get information. "It's kind of like some Fourth of July celebrations," Mr. Page said Monday night of Mr. Allen's time in the top school post.. "It started with a bang and it fizzled out."

School Committee member Janie Casello Bouges, who was chairman for most of Mr. Allen's term, said he brought stability at a time when it was needed.

"He set us on a good path." she said.

School Committee Vice Chairman Ronald E. Prouty, a longtime English teacher at Auburn High School and former interim superintendent of schools, said he thought Mr. Allen was terrific from the very beginning. He said the establishment of the strategic plan and getting the administrators of all the town's schools working closely together were two of Mr. Allen's biggest accomplishments.

Mr. Prouty said very few people in the school system told him they didn't think Mr. Allen "did a bang-up job." He also said Mr. Allen didn't shy away from dealing with some difficult personnel problems.

Mary D. Stone Elementary School Principal Elizabeth D. Johnson, who is scheduled to retire Oct.1, has worked with many superintendents during her career.

"I enjoyed working with Bill," she said, adding that she was especially impressed by his calmness. "He was very honest and he was very open with some of his own ideas that brought a whole new richness to the school system. He was very good at team building."

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: William E. Allen talks about his year as interim school superintendent in Auburn.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/TOM RETTIG