Marblehead School Committee Did Not Violate Open Meeting Law: AG's Office
MARBLEHEAD, MA — The Marblehead School Committee did not violate state open meeting laws during its executive sessions involving the negotiated departure of former Superintendent John Buckey, according to a state attorney general’s office decision shared at Monday’s Committee meeting.
The complaint was filed last summer and was based on the lack of public deliberation during the Committee’s pursuit of an early termination clause in Buckey’s contract. The School Committee had cited the need to keep the negotiations confidential as they pertained to a personnel matter and since have cited a non-disparagement agreement as the reason members could not discuss the details that led to the mutual separation between Buckey and the district.
“The finding was that there was not an open meeting violation,” Schaeffner said during Monday night’s meeting. “It’s a five- or six-page opinion … they do give the factors that led to their opinion.”
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Schaeffner said the AG’s report was a public record and would be made available to media and individuals seeking it.
Buckey was graded as “proficient” during his final evaluation in the spring and publicly stated he would forgo any discussions of a performance raise in advance of a Proposition 2 1/2 general override designed to fund the retention of 32 full-time positions in the district and corresponding programs.
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The override failed — the second straight year a tax override did not gain support in a townwide vote — and Buckey then challenged the new School Committee’s moves to look for ways to restore some of the eliminated positions.
About one month later, a Marblehead School Committee meeting that’s agenda included a vote on the possible ouster of Buckey was abruptly adjourned immediately after it began based on what then-School Committee Chair Sarah Fox said was “a last-minute communication with counsel.”
The meeting’s agenda included a discussion and vote on the “early termination clause” in Buckey’s contract that could have led to his dismissal. The School Committee met in subsequent executive sessions before announcing the separation agreement with Buckey.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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