A new report from Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick found the Francis Howell School Board failed to do their due diligence both when choosing former Dr. Mike Dominguez to serve as their Superintendent and selecting the firm to find him and other candidates. Dr. Dominguez was hired in March of 2025 to a three year contract but ultimately never worked the job for a day before the Board mutually agreed to part ways with him.
Fitzpatrick's says the Board missed "concerns," with Dr. Dominguez until after they entered into a three year contract with him to serve as superintendent.
"They found out after the fact, after they hired him, that there were some things they were concerned about in his past, in his prior employment. Rather than see that employment contract through, the Board decided to part ways with him."
Those concerns, serious enough for the board to lose confidence in Dr. Dominguez and place him on leave, were kept from the public when the board elected to mutually terminate his contract and sign a confidentiality agreement which is why the auditor will not elaborate.
Dr. Dominguez was paid the rest of his $250,000 for his first year at Francis Howell.
Dr. Mike Dominguez
Francis Howell School District
According to Fitzpatrick, the "concerns," were related to his former employment at the Garden City School District in Kansas.
In his audit, Fitzpatrick identified red flags with Dr. Dominguez's application the Board missed. They include typographical errors on his resume and no letter of recommendation or references from his former employer, the Garden City School District located in Kansas. Only later did he include references from district employees but not their Board.
Fitzpatrick says Dr. Dominguez resigned from the Garden City School District a year in advance of his contract expiring. The Francis Howell School Board did not know of this or question Dr. Dominguez about it according to the auditor's report.
According to the audit the search firm hired to find their next superintendent was the same one who hired Dr. Kenneth Roumpos away from the district to join the Kirkwood school district. Auditor Fitzpatrick says they were chosen for this reason but they too missed the concerns around Dr. Dominguez. The current Francis Howell Superintendent is Mark Delaney.
'I am mad' Francis Howell parents criticize school board removal Black history, literature classes next yearFrancis Howell School District, YoutubeLooking long-term, Fitzpatrick essentially says the Francis Howell Board is blowing off their responsibility for this costly hiring mistake.
"The board is kind of washing their hands of it...not accepting responsibility for the failure here," says Fitzpatrick. "As long as they have that attitude and take that approach, this circumstance has a high risk of repeating itself."
Fitzpatrick says the Board insists hiring a superintendent is not routine but notes Francis Howell has hired three since 2022.
Francis Howell responds:
"The auditor did not identify any violations of Missouri law, Board policy or contract regarding the separation agreement with the previous Superintendent. As a proactive measure, the Board has implemented several changes related to superintendent contracts. We have strong leadership in place and are focused on the future."
