WILMINGTON, MA – The saga involving the separation agreement between the Wilmington School Committee and former School Superintendent Mary DeLai appears to be reaching its conclusion.
At last week’s School Committee Meeting, Chair Julie Broussard announced that the Massachusetts State Supervisor of Public Records made a binding determination on Monday, January 9 regarding the the Board of Selectmen’s appeal over the School Committee’s decision to redact most of DeLai’s separation agreement.
In accordance with the Supervisor’s ruling, the School Committee turned over a “slightly less redacted” version of the agreement, according to Broussard. The agreement was hand-delivered to Town Manager Jeff Hull’s office on Tuesday, January 10. The document will be shared with each Selectmen.
School Committee Member Won’t Attend Selectmen’s Meeting To Discuss The Agreement
The Selectmen have invited School Committee members to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss the matter. School Committee Chair Julie Broussard announced, however, that the School Committee’s lawyer, Andrew Waugh, has advised committee members not to go.
The attorney cited the separation’s agreement’s non-disclosure clause:
Ms. DeLai shall maintain the confidentiality of this separation agreement and its terms, and shall not discuss or disclose its contents, terms and conditions with anyone except her legal counsel, financial advisors, her spouse, or as required by law. The Committee shall maintain the confidentiality of this agreement and its terms and shall not discuss or disclose its contents, terms and conditions with anyone except the Interim Superintendent, legal counsel, the Director of Human Resources, the Business Manager, the Payroll Specialist, or in response to a lawful subpoena or court order.
“The Board of Selectmen has been frustrated that we haven’t be able to respond or share any information, but this is why,” said Broussard, pointing to the non-disclosure clause.
Broussard also noted that she did not formally respond to the Town Manager Hull’s invitation for the committee to attend the Board of Selectmen’s Meeting on January 9 or January 23 because she did not see the invitation until January 6 and needed to first discuss it with the School Committee in open session.
One Outstanding Issue – Executive Session Minutes
In addition to the separation agreement, the Town Manager, on behalf of the Board of Selectmen, made a public records request on December 12 to see the minutes from the School Committee’s October 3 Executive Session meeting, where the Committee reached the separation agreement with DeLai.
Interim Superintendent Joanne Benton, acting on advice of counsel, denied the request on December 29, citing Massachusetts General Law that would seemingly allow the minutes to be withheld from disclosure as a public record until the separation agreement expires on June 30.
At last week’s Selectmen’s Meeting, the Board voted, 4-1, to appeal the decision to the Massachusetts State Supervisor of Public Records in an attempt to view the minutes to get a better understanding of the agreement.
“If the [Supervisor] orders the release of those minutes, then [the School Committee] will comply,” said Broussard. “Otherwise, the School Committee has done all it can at this point.”
DeLai resigned on October 3 after it came to light that she was arrested in August on drunk driving charges. As part of the separation agreement, the School Committee agreed to pay her the remainder ($125,975) of her FY17 salary and benefits through June 30. Unexpectedly, DeLai found full-time employment soon after her resignation, joining the Watertown Public Schools as their Interim Business Manager on November 14. DeLai continues to receive bi-weekly payments from Wilmington.
Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.
Wilmington Apple 