News Blog

In a letter that went out today to the Rochester school district's central office and other staff, Superintendent Bolgen Vargas said that three key cabinet members that he hired will leave the district on December 31, which is also Vargas's last day. They are: William Ansbrow, the district's chief financial officer; Ed Lopez, the district's general counsel; and Patricia Malgieri, chief of staff.

"These are leaders with strong experience from outside the education field whom I recruited specifically to address financial, legal, and management issues the district faced when I became superintendent," Vargas said in the letter.

Vargas credited Ansbrow with stewarding millions of dollars while reducing the district's budget problems. Malgieri led the expansion of summer learning programs and helped oversee the facilities modernization program to upgrade city school buildings. 

Ansbrow and Malgieri were controversial hires, drawing sharp criticism from some board members and contributing to the troubled relationship between the Vargas and the school board. 

Vargas also said that he has been meeting regularly with Daniel Lowengard, who will begin as the district's interim superintendent on January 1, 2016.