WILMINGTON, MA — In the Monday, October 10 edition of the Lowell Sun, the paper ran an editorial (“Lack of transparency’s sobering consequences“) about former Superintendent Mary DeLai’s resignation that clearly did not sit well with some members of the Wilmington School Committee.
The School Committee “may want to put this whole disturbing episode behind them, but the people who pay their salaries deserve some answers,” read the editorial. “Taxpayers should demand transparency from their public officials, which certainly didn’t happen here. That DeLai apparently intended to ride out her drunken-driving arrest and admission of guilt can’t be tolerated. And neither can the suppression of this incident by any other Wilmington public official.”
Chair Julie Broussard took a moment at the Wednesday’s School Committee Meeting to read a brief prepared statement. While she did not specifically reference the editorial, she focused her remarks around the issues of transparency and salaries.
Broussard On Transparency Charges
“I acknowledge the last few weeks have been challenging for our school community. The Wilmington School Committee has done our very best to be as transparent as legally possible. To my colleagues on this board, I want to say that I’m very proud of you. You’ve handled some tough situations with respect, dignity and professionalism. Manny, Steve, Ginny, Peggy, Tom and MJ… I say thank you. To our dedicated staff, teachers and administrators, you’ve had to pick up quite a bit and be under quite a bit of stress yourself. I’d like to say thank you very much.”
Broussard On Salary Reference
“To the greater community of Wilmington, please remember that while these individuals seated beside me our elected officials, the Wilmington School Committee members are volunteers. It may surprise you, but we receive no pay or stipend for the work we do. Our children and grandchildren attend Wilmington Public Schools. Members of this committee have given countless hours of service to our town. We do this job because we care about all the children of Wilmington, and our passionate about public education. We give our time because we believe in community service. Thank you.”
Later in the meeting, School Committee veteran Peggy Kane helped connect the dots for audience members, noting that, in her opinion, the Lowell Sun had recently run “a number of misinformed comments about us and what’s been going on.”
Watch Broussard’s remarks, courtesy of Wilmington Community Television, below at the 14:15-mark:
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