A new deputy superintendent tapped for Manatee schools while Ciranna is investigated

A new deputy superintendent will serve Manatee County schools while Ron Ciranna is investigated for a project that went $10 million over budget and more than a year behind schedule.

Doug Wagner, the district’s executive director of adult, career and technical education, will also work as the deputy superintendent of business services and operations, according to an email sent to district staff on Wednesday.

The email, signed by Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, said Wagner has 28 years of experience between working as a teacher and a district administrator. He joined Manatee’s schools in 2001.

Wagner will head the Division of Business Services and Operations, which oversees a wide range of departments, including food services, human resources, information technology, construction services, transportation and payroll.

He is temporarily replacing Ciranna, who remains on paid administrative leave while the district investigates “payments and scope of work related to the ERP process that may not have gone through proper authorization.”

“We will inform you of Mr. Ciranna’s status once it becomes available,” the email states. “We appreciate your support during the transition.”

According to the email, Saunders has also contracted with George Kosmac to address issues with the new software. He is a retired deputy superintendent out of Seminole County and a consultant with the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

Kosmac recently investigated the software project. His grim findings were received by the district on Sunday night and distributed to local reporters the next afternoon.

Despite “enormous expenditure of District funds,” his report said, the software was missing several key functions, and its existing features were troublesome.

“My goals are to ensure the fidelity and completion of the ERP implementation,” Saunders said in Wednesday’s email.

The massive project was expected to cost about $10 million and go live on April 1, 2017, according to documents from a past school board meeting.

It expanded to include Manatee Technical College and other accounts, and the project was further slowed by staff turnover, poor planning and a lack of communication. It was officially rolled out on July 1, more than a year after its original go-live date.

Saunders and Scott Hopes, the school board chair, announced on Monday that totals costs were likely $20 million or more.

They said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would meet with district officials on Wednesday. A visit from state auditors is also expected in the near future.

The district is calling on Ciber, the project vendor, to finish its work. Kosmac’s report offered three solutions to support district staff during the transition, each costing between $270,000 to $1.5 million, but Saunders said she was not considering those plans on Monday.

Friday marks the district’s next payroll cycle, along with the end of Ciber’s contract.

“As superintendent, I cannot support a contract extension with Ciber until current issues are resolved,” Saunders said in a recent news release. “Ciber must finish the job it has already been paid to do.”

This story was originally published August 22, 2018 at 1:35 PM with the headline "A new deputy superintendent tapped for Manatee schools while Ciranna is investigated."