While the 2024-25 school year was drawing to a close, Barrington Superintendent of Schools Robert Wargo was looking for a new job. A month ago, before he had completed his first year as leader of this town’s public school district, Wargo was a finalist for an interim superintendent of schools job in nearby Brookline, Mass.

As reported by Brookline News, a nonprofit news organization covering that community, Wargo was one of four finalists interviewed publicly by the Brookline School Committee on June 16 and 17. A recording of the June 17 Wargo interview is posted on the Brookline School District website.

Wargo was not hired for that job. The Brookline School Committee instead hired another candidate, Bella Wong, a Brookline native who has led three other districts.

Though the reasons have not been stated publicly, it is clear Wargo was looking to leave Barrington before completing the three-year contract he signed just a year ago, which made him the highest-paid public, K-12 educator in the history of Rhode Island. Wargo was earning $265,000 per year, plus a car allowance, as Barrington superintendent.

In an email to the entire Barrington School District faculty and staff last Monday, June 30, Wargo announced he would be resigning his job at the end of the 2025-26 school year. However, six hours later he resigned, effective immediately, during a closed-door meeting with the Barrington School Committee, which voted unanimously to accept the resignation.

It is not known publicly what led to that change in direction — from resigning a year from now to resigning a week ago in the executive-session meeting — but something clearly changed the outcome.

In his email to staff, sent Monday, June 30, at 12:29 p.m., Wargo praised the district and its employees before concluding with the following: “For all of us summer offers a natural time for reflection. Perhaps it’s a sign of aging, but lately I’ve found myself thinking more deeply about the present and the future. I’ve always loved what I do. I’ve often said that Monday is my favorite day of the week because it marks a return to a place full of opportunity and promise. But a recent conversation with a peer who shared that their favorite moment of the day is when work ends made me pause. I don’t want to find myself in that headspace.

“So long story short, after careful thought, I’ve decided to step down as Superintendent at the end of the 2025/26 school year. By sharing this now, it will provide the school committee the time it needs to conduct a thorough search for Barrington’s next superintendent. In the meantime, I remain fully committed to our mission. We have important work ahead and lives to impact.

“Enjoy the rest of your well deserved summer break. I look forward to gathering with you in late August to launch the 2025/26 school year, one that I know will be filled with opportunity, purpose, and promise.”

He signed the email, “Rob.”

Six hours later, Wargo and the school committee met in executive session at Barrington Middle School to address two pressing issues — its contract with transportation provider Ocean State Transit, and Wargo’s future employment. Most of what took place in that meeting is confidential and minutes are sealed, aside from the announcement that Wargo had decided to resign, effective immediately.

Wargo walked away from Barrington with no severance and nothing owed to the former superintendent. In an email sent in response to an inquiry from the Barrington Times, school district Director of Finance Doug Fiore wrote: “There is no separation agreement in place, nor are there any severance payments or ongoing financial obligations owed to Mr. Wargo by the district as a result of his resignation.”

The 2025 Financial Town Meeting

As seen in public meetings over the last few months, there were recent signs of tension or mild conflict between Wargo and school committee members. Many of those moments centered around preparation and presentation of the 2025-26 school district budget.

Weeks ago, Wargo sent an email to the entire Barrington school community outlining the potential impacts of the proposed budget, including the names and roles of the dozen educators likely to be laid off under the spending plan. Hours later, he called the Barrington Times and requested that information be withheld from publication. The issue was ultimately discussed during another closed-door meeting of the school committee on May 22.

At about the same time, some Barrington residents began maneuvering to restore funding to the school budget that had been impacted by reducation in state aid to education. Doreen Lindenburg, a teacher at Barrington High School, filed a motion to increase the school operating budget by $534,000.

“This amount represents the difference between the school operating budget approved by the school committee for level services and the school operating budget approved by the Committee on Appropriations, which would require substantial cuts to necessary programs and services currently provided,” she wrote.

Voters approved that motion a week later, on May 28, at the Financial Town Meeting, giving the schools their full funding and presumably eliminating the potential layoffs.

In his June 17 Brookline interview, Wargo revealed some of the behind-the-scenes maneuvers — previously unknown to his own school committee – that preceded Barrington’s financial town meeting. Asked during the public interview about previous situations where he tried to build consensus around a school budget, he responded with this story about the 2025 budget process in Barrington:

“We had done great work and presented a budget that was fiscally responsible, but because of the loss of revenues, we had to account for some cuts … Because we had dips in some enrollments, we were able to not fill some positions. We looked at some retirements and figured out that not every retirement needed to be filled. But we were still short of money.

“We have a very strong relationship between central office and the union. So we had some closed-door, off the record conversations, but I can share about what the process was. We wanted to work together, to get a motion on the floor, at the Financial Town Meeting, to ask for an additional 1% to the local appropriation, to provide enough funds to restore some of the positions that had to be cut — none of the district-level positions, but closer to the student, classroom-level positions.

“So we had a courageous teacher, who lived in town, who filed a motion … You go through a long process, it’s presented, there was a vote taken, and a majority of the [residents] voted in favor of adding money to the school budget.

“What you learn through that process is trying to develop advocacy, trying to find people who can help you do that work. Because you can’t do it by yourself.”

Some members of the Barrington School Committee were not happy to learn about those “off the record” meetings with union leadership, as revealed during the Brookline interview.

Note: This story has been edited from its original version to correct an error in the description of the 2025 school budget process.