The Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has found that the School Committee did not violate the Open Meeting Law in July 2023.
Campbell’s office received a complaint from Cathyann Swindlehurst in October 2023 alleging that the School Committee violated the law.
The complaint alleged that the committee entered into executive session for an improper purpose during a July 21, 2023 meeting and discussed then-Superintendent John Buckey’s contract outside of a properly posted meeting.
School Committee Chair Jenn Schaeffner said in an interview that she agrees with the decision by the Attorney General’s Division of Open Government, and that it reflects the views of the majority of the committee.
“I will say that I believe that this School Committee has worked very hard this year to be as transparent as we can be. So we are certainly all committed to obeying the laws of Massachusetts in regard to open meetings that pertain to both open sessions and executive sessions,” she said.
The complaint was originally filed with the committee around July 31, 2023, and Attorney Colby Brunt responded to the complaint on behalf of the committee in August.
According to a release from KerryAnne Kilcoyne, assistant attorney general of the Division of Open Government, during a meeting held on June 6, 2023, the committee evaluated Buckey and each member shared their individual thoughts on whether the he met or exceeded various goals and standards.
The committee then unanimously approved a motion “to support” the summary evaluation, which found the Buckey to be “proficient” in all four standards and to have either met or made significant progress toward goals, including professional practice, student learning, and district improvement, according to the release.
At the committee’s next meeting on June 15, it unanimously approved a motion “to accept” Buckey’s evaluation for the 2022-23 school year, the release stated.
“The committee duly posted a notice for a meeting on July 21, 2023, at 2 p.m. The notice listed an executive session pursuant to Purpose 2 to ‘conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel (Superintendent),’” the release reads.
The committee convened in open session at 2:03 p.m. and then-Chair Sarah Fox said it would enter executive session to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel.
The committee voted to convene in an executive session and announced that it would not reconvene in an open session. Its members discussed the terms of Buckey’s contract and whether to exercise an early-termination clause and possible settlement terms in the executive session.
The committee voted to authorize the town’s legal counsel to negotiate a separation agreement with Buckey, according to the release.
The committee “duly” posted a notice for a meeting to be held on July 31 at 9:30 a.m. The notice listed an executive session pursuant to Purpose 2 to “conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel (Superintendent),” the release reads.
The July 31 meeting was held as scheduled. The committee convened in an open session at 9:33 a.m. and Chair Sarah Fox said the committee would enter executive session to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel.
After the majority vote, the the committee discussed terms to include in a settlement agreement with Buckey and voted to not include a “mutual non-disparagement clause,” the release stated.
The committee agreed that Fox would work with the town’s legal counsel to finalize a separation agreement. The committee voted to authorize Fox to enter into discussions with then-Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Michelle Cresta to become acting superintendent, according to the release.
During a meeting held on Aug. 11, the committee ratified the settlement agreement that had been reached with Buckey, who would remain on paid leave until Dec. 31, 2023, at which time he resigned.
The release stated that a “public body may convene in executive session to ‘conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel.’”
The filed complaint stated that the committee deliberated outside of posted meetings between July 6 and July 17. It alleged some members of the committee must have “made the decision to review” Buckey’s contract when there were no public discussions or votes during committee meetings on June 29 and July 6, “which would have signaled to voters that the newly elected School Committee had chosen to re-open consideration of the superintendent’s status,” according to the release.
Campbell’s office stated that it was in communication with Attorney Jennifer King, who asserted on behalf of the committee that “members did not discuss the superintendent’s contract and/or any possible termination of the superintendent any time between July 6, 2023, and July 17, 2023, outside of any scheduled meetings.”
Campbell’s office stated in the release that the organization “was not presented with any evidence that directly contradicted this assertion, but noted that in response to a public records request from The Marblehead Current for communications between committee members that appear related to the superintendent’s contract, the committee responded that messages on some of its members’ electronic devices, including text messages, had been deleted. The communications that were the subject of the public records request occurred within the same timeframe as the discussion of the superintendent’s contract and pertained to an investigation of a bullying incident involving a former girls’ soccer coach and the lack of responsiveness by the school administration, including the superintendent.”
Campbell’s office found no evidence that deliberation occurred between committee members regarding Buckey’s contract.