BURLINGTON — Maybe now it will be the time for vacations for Interim Supt. Dr. James Picone.

Just maybe.

While today is the last day in the second go-round for Picone as superintendent of the Burlington school system, he said he has no intentions of leaving his part-time positions.

He teaches school finance and personnel administration at Salem State; is a consultant at the Merrimack Valley Educational Collaborative, and will be consulting at the state School Building Authority; and, in a new venture, is supervising eight students who are working on becoming certified as school administrators.

Only after that will the trips come, possibly to Italy, California, and Florida, and more time spent with his wife, Kathy, a retired schoolteacher.

Meanwhile, Picone, interviewed in his office Tuesday night, reflected on what happened over the past 10 months.

He was asked in August 2007 to come back following the sudden death of Katie Spinos who had been on the job only seven months. He accepted, and in the eyes of the School Committee saved the system.

"I think we should thank him for stepping forward," School Committee member Thomas F. Murphy Jr. said, during Tuesday night's meeting. "It was, frankly, a life-saver for the town; for him to be willing after retiring once was very generous. We couldn't have gotten this far without him."

"We didn't know how we would get through the transition," said School Committee member Stephen Nelson. "Jim came back, and otherwise, it would have been impossible.

"You (Picone) did make a sacrifice, and we want to thank you for it personally," Nelson continued. "The system moved forward with great progress."

"We would not be where we are today if you did not come back," said John Vanella of the School Committee. "The committee was very concerned about the system ... Who knows what would have happened?"

"It was easy to come back," Picone responded to the school board. "When you enjoy working somewhere for 20 years, and enjoy the people and respect the system and its educators, it is an easy decision."

"In the school system in the town which I live — Salem — there is turmoil, you can read about that in the papers," Picone went on to say. "If I had been asked to come back to a system with that situation, I would have said no."

Experience of returning

During the interview, Picone did acknowledge there were challenges.

"Interesting," he answered, when initially asked how to describe his return tenure.

While he was working in a system "familiar" to him, Picone said, there were two administrators who had just come aboard — Burlington High School Principal Patrick Larkin, and Francis Wyman Principal Susan Astone.

"Don't get me wrong, they (Larkin and Astone) were excellent choices," Picone said. "It just means that when you bring in two new people administratively, they have to adjust to my management style.

"It means them getting accustomed to the decisions I make, and getting them consistent with my management philosophy," Picone went on to say. "With (retired principals) Linda Hayes and Kathy Burns, they were veterans, working with them it was seamless. It never consumed any of my time.

"With new people, it just takes up more of your time, administratively," Picone stated.

But, overall, Picone said, he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish.

"The goal was to work with the town, to get a budget that was sustainable for the programs and the positions we already had, retained from the prior budget," Picone said. "We were able to put teachers in front of kids instead of adding administrators.

"Keep in mind, we had a $36 million budget that got passed by Town Meeting, and went through without any questions at Town Meeting; I think that tells us that we got all the information out that we needed to get out."

"I enjoyed coming back," Picone said. "I had worked here for 20 years, and enjoyed the people I work with. They are very supportive of education. Coming back to a system like that is easy.

"This would not have been as enjoyable, if I was asked to come back to a system that was facing budget cuts and layoffs," Picone added. "I instead came back to a system that was supported by the town."

Advice

The day after Picone leaves, Dr. Eric Conti arrives from Culpeper, Va., to begin his tenure as Burlington superintendent.

Picone was asked what advice he would offer Conti.

"I would say that he should at first take the time to get to know the people, get to know the programs, the system, the staff he has," Picone stated. "Then, he should make decisions after he has taken the time to get familiar with the system."