Longmeadow School Committee meets with Administrative Team, discusses Superintendent

Jan. 16, 2019 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

LONGMEADOW – “Before people can move forward they have to heal the past, that hasn’t happened,” Assistant Superintendent for Learning Susan Bertrand stated as Longmeadow’s Administrative Team sat before the School Committee on Jan. 8 to explain their thoughts on what has led up to the vote of non–renewal of Superintendent Dr. Martin O’Shea’s contract.

Prior to the meeting with the Administrative Team, visitors made comments to the large group of attendees and the School Committee on this topic. Former School Committee member Russ Dupere came before the group, explaining his experience on the Committee. He shared that after the first year of O’Shea’s tenure there was an evaluation,  at which Dupere stated he felt O’Shea did a “great job.”

“I think the Committee as a whole did and we gave him a very good evaluation. That’s not what you would do if you were out to get a superintendent fired,” he noted.

Continuing, Dupere explained that over the course of the past few years there were issues arising that he didn’t feel were insurmountable. With that said, Dupere stated, “In any relationship you need trust and respect and to understand both sides don’t have an ill intent, and that’s something that I lost over the last year. The relationship itself broke down for a number of reasons.”

“Kerrin [Morrin] and Beth [Barron] weren’t even on the committee when the superintendent search happened, they weren’t even involved,” Dupere added.

Moving on in comments, resident Lee Venko encouraged residents to “debate without hate.” Alex Grant, a former Select Board member, stated that while he didn’t want to speak on the issue and wanted to leave it alone, he implied he could not leave it any longer.

“Since I moved here in 2008, we had a vote on a $2.1 million–dollar override, it passed by four votes, we were deeply divided by it but it never got personal like this. When we voted in 2010 for the new High School that was going to cost the average taxpayer $500, and there were people who were dead set against it, we could disagree without being disagreeable. During 2013 and 2014 I was a part of the anti-casino resolution in Town Meeting and the statewide vote, and this town was deeply divided on that one as well. I think it was 55 to 45 against casinos, and you know what, nobody ever made it personal,” Grant said. “You could disagree with the issues and still be friends, you could still do business with people, you could still be friendly.”

Resident and mother of four, Lisa Kelly, thanked the School Committee for their time and service. She then directed a question to O’Shea: was he told or informed prior to the Nov. 14 School Committee meeting that he did not have the votes needed to renew his contract?

O’Shea hesitated, visibly unsure if he should respond, to which School Committee Chair Beth Barron said she would defer to whatever he decided.

“I was told that I didn’t have the votes and I understood going in that,” O’Shea shrugged. “…that I didn’t have the votes to be renewed. That was my understanding.”

Kelly asked O’Shea to expand on how he was disclosed that information.

“It was in a meeting with the chair and the co–chair that I was informed that I didn’t have the votes to be renewed,” O’Shea responded.

Kelly asked if he was aware of the date, to which O’Shea said he would have to go back to his calendar, but it was when he was at a conference on the Cape for the Mass Associations of School Committees.

Barron added that O’Shea’s mentor was at the meeting O’Shea referenced. “He was not informed that he did not have the votes, he was informed he did not have the Chair’s support going forward, and I would like that noted on the record, that is what was said in that particular meeting,” Barron stated.

Following a few more comments, one from Town Moderator Rebecca Townsend on Town Meeting procedure as well as from Doug Morrin, School Committee Vice Chair Kerrin Morrin’s husband, Barron closed out this portion of the meting stating that it was a new year and time for a new beginning.

“Let’s leave 2018 behind us. Let’s start off on a positive note. Let’s welcome our administrative team tonight to come have a discussion with us. I embrace it, I welcome it, I think it’s necessary,” she said.

Barron continued to note that there were 15 minutes allotted for a discussion but that she sees it as a “hopeful beginning” and a starting point where she hoped to have “many, many, many more discussions to get us to a place where we can effectively move forward as a committee and get back to the business of this district, which is the need and the interests of our students.”

School Committee member Armand Wray made a motion to allow the Administrative Team at least a half an hour to have the discussion. School Committee member Bronwyn Monahan seconded the motion. Morrin stated that there was “no time limit.” When a vote was taken to extend the time to a half hour, the motion failed five to two.

The Administrative Team came before the School Committee and Assistant Superintendent for Learning Susan Bertrand started the discussion, expressing that the team was uncomfortable.

“In spirit of transparency, we are all uncomfortable sitting here talking to you tonight. We have great worries about potential retribution from comments that we might have. I just want to be honest with you and let you know that’s how we’re feeling. Despite that, we’re here,” Bertrand said. “The original request from the Administrative Team to speak with the School Committee regarding Dr. O’Shea’s performance came in on February 14, 2018,” she continued. “There are seven committee members and there are 10 administrators. Having been denied meeting requests with the full admin team for nearly a year, and when finally a meeting is granted you allot a mere 90 seconds for each administrator to engage in meaningful dialogue with the committee. This act in and of itself validates our feelings that our perspective is not valued. To limit our time to 15 minutes flies in the face of wanting to improve relationships between the School Committee and the Administrative Team.”

After a few other comments from the Administrative Team, Barron explained that she had concerns with how the meeting was going.

“I am very shocked, I don’t even know how to start. I am happy to set a path going forward but this is setting itself for a back and forth where people think they have to defined each other and that’s not doing our district any good,” Barron said. She continued, “Here we are, we need to move forward, this isn’t doing anything this is prohibitive. It’s not healthy; we need to get back on track to talking about the kids. If you want to clear the air, this is not the forum to do it. I have suggested some meetings behind closed doors or a workshop but we are not going to go back and forth. We are not turning a School Committee meeting into a Jerry Springer sideshow.”

At this point in the meeting, Bertrand expressed that it would be difficult to move forward until the past is healed.

“Please understand that this relationship is fractured, it does not exist. Instead of ignoring it and trying to make believe that we can work through this over the next six months, that is not the case. It needs to be addressed,” Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Thomas Mazza stated.

Barron stated she understood this, and appreciated him telling the Committee that they feel ignored, however she is looking for ways to amend the relationship.

School Committee member Melanie Rothstein added that despite the February 14, 2018, request by the Administrative Team to speak with the School Committee, it would not have been appropriate for the School Committee to discuss the Administrative Team’s boss, O’Shea, as they were in executive session for his contract. Additionally, she added that O’Shea had not given the Committee permission to speak with the Administrative Team on the subject.

“We had to do it behind closed doors, we couldn’t come to you in February,” Rothstein said. “To generalize that you asked for a request in February and no one’s granted it and that we’ve ignored you is not really the way that this has happened either.”

Bertrand stated they would have to agree to disagree.

To continue the meeting and listen to the discussion, go to https://livestream.com/longmeadow/events/8519127

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