Loss of Confidence is Claim for School Superintendent Dismissal in Hamilton/Wenham

Heads were spinning and reality seemed off balance this past week in Hamilton and Wenham when the School Committee abruptly announced that the employment of School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan was being terminated...less than one year into a three-year contract.

The principal reason?...Loss of Confidence.

LOSS OF CONFIDENCE is a term often used as grounds for termination of an employee.  Loss of confidence arising from fraud or willful breach of trust by an employee is generally seen as a just cause for termination.

Ordinary breach should not suffice.  It should be willful and without justifiable excuse and should be supported by substantial evidence, not merely by the whims or caprice of the employer.

For her part, School Committee member Dacia Rubel took great pains to justify her long and disparaging performance review of Dr. Buchanan.  Her review was 10 times longer than any other board member's review of the Superintendent.  As someone with a law degree (not currently practicing), Ms. Rubel surely knew the term "loss of confidence" and how to use it in order to justify her desire to see Dr. Buchanan removed from his position as School Superintendent.

I counted the term "loss of confidence" no less than eleven times in her evaluation survey.  Considering her harsh analysis of Dr. Buchanan's performance, once would have sufficed.

But wait.  There are other legal terms that may bear consideration in this instance, such as:

"Wrongful Termination" or "Wrongful Discharge" and most notably "Constructive Dismissal".

Definition: CONSTRUCTIVE DISMISSAL: forcing of resignation of employee: action taken by an employer intended to make continuing in a job intolerable for an unwanted employee, thus forcing the employee to resign.

All we heard after the Executive Session last Thursday night right was a statement issued by the School Committee's attorney, Naomi Stonberg:

"Parties have had a frank conversation about the employment relationship between the Hamilton/Wenham Regional School District and Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan.  They have agreed that their mutual interests will be best served by bringing the relationship to a conclusion.  There will be no further comments until a final agreement has been reached."

Despite stating "there will be no further comments...", the School Committee issued a statement on Monday ostensibly to clarify the reasoning for that Executive Session meeting.  They claimed that it was Dr. Buchanan who requested the meeting and that his performance reviews were not discussed.  Surely they would not have us believe that the reviews had nothing to do with Dr. Buchanan's asking to meet in Executive Session.  It would be naive to suggest such a thing.

Obviously the meeting was called by Dr. Buchanan as a direct result of the negative performance reviews of most of the School Committee members, in particular Ms. Rubel's - she is clearly the leading spokesperson - and  I would suggest that Dr. Buchanan may have felt no choice but to "resign" for reasons imposed by the School Committee.

And that sounds a lot like "Constructive Dismissal".

We'll know more soon, but in the interim there are lots of comments on The Patch and an editorial in the Salem News [click here] for you to review.

When Is An Override NOT An Override?

Several readers of this blog have asked me to print the statement which I had the honor to deliver on behalf of Enough Is Enough at the Hamilton Town Meeting, in support of an amendment to the School Committee's proposed budget.  Here it is:

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Good Morning fellow residents…I come before you today to speak on behalf of Enough Is Enough.

We support the proposed amendment before you.

QUESTION:...When is an override NOT an override? We suggest it’s when a budget includes funds that are not needed. This year the School committee is demanding $500k MORE than our Finance Committee and our Board of Selectmen and our Town Manager unanimously agree the school’s need.

If you think about it, bloating the school budget by $½ million is quite clever. You see, the last time the School Committee asked for an override, it was denied by the voters. And despite claims to the contrary, the sky did not fall in. That last attempt at an unneeded override was for $1.2 million. I say “unneeded” because the schools got along just fine without it. In fact… even without that $1.2 million, services remained in place, teachers were not laid off…AND this past year the district ended up with a SURPLUS of over $1 million. A SURPLUS!

Today, rather than risk being denied another override by already overburdened taxpayers, the School Committee has simply added unneeded funding into their budget. Don’t be fooled by this ploy. It’s tantamount to an override… but disguised as a budget. At least a real override is for a specific purpose. This unneeded $500k is for things that “may” or “could” or “might” happen…....possibly.

All we have heard over the past few weeks from the School Committee and their budget supporters has been non-specific rhetoric, such as:

QUOTE: “We can’t rule out POSSIBLE service cuts and teacher cuts.”

QUOTE: “It’s POSSIBLE that the E&D account may not be large enough to cover UNEXPECTED expenses.”

(B/T/W…one veteran member of the SC has stated that the E & D balance would be one of the highest amounts he has seen in 19 years on the committee.)

QUOTE: “Anytime you take money away you put things AT RISK.”

QUOTE: “We COULD be faced with revenue shortfalls”

QUOTE: And this is my personal favorite: “It’s difficult to IMAGINE what services might be cut.” YES, it is. It surely is.

That’s a whole lot of innuendo… a lot of “could’s” and “might’s” and “maybe’s” and “possibly’s”. On the other hand, here are some FACTS we would like you to consider:

FACT: The Blue Ribbon Committee (remember them?) came to the conclusion that our school district outspends comparable school districts by between $2 and $4 million a year. As did the Department of Education.

FACT: An expert and detailed independent Operational Audit came to the same conclusion in a four hundred page report.

FACT: The district administration’s original budget, supported by a majority of the members of the School Committee's Working Finance Sub-Committee, was for $350,000 LESS than what the School Committee is demanding from you today.

FACT: Since that time we now know that an additional $120,000 in state funds will be available to the schools.

FACT: The School Committee’s budget ALSO includes salary compensation ($77,000) for a Latin teacher…but there is NO Latin teacher.

I could go on, but in the interest of time and in conclusion, we ask you to consider the following 3 things as you prepare to vote on this important issue:

1. Since 2001, our towns have funded 8 school overrides that have cost the taxpayers $43,947,000 over that 10 year period.

2. With over $1 million in EXCESS funding left over from LAST year, it is fair and appropriate to ask the school district to return a portion of those unspent funds to the taxpayers. This year the Town of Hamilton mistakenly over-charged the taxpayers $275,000. The Selectmen, with the support of the Fincom, did the right thing and immediately voted to return it to you, not keep it in a reserve fund as the schools are demanding. The school district owes you the same courtesy and respect your Selectmen provided you when they “gave back” your money. And although the chairman of the School Committee has publicly referred to the $500,000 as (quote) “our money”, it is NOT their money…it’s yours.

If UNEXPECTED costs are incurred, we suggest the district use the other $500,000 in unspent fiscal year 2011 funds… and if need be, include the $77,000 salary of the non-existent LATIN TEACHER.

3. Lastly, it’s no secret that Hamilton’s property tax rate is one of the highest in Massachusetts, the direct result of unchecked and spiraling school spending. As a Realtor, I can assure you that such a high property tax rate diminishes your home’s market value and your equity…as well as your ability to sell should you need to. If you want to reverse this trend, you need to vote to approve the amendment before you.

Please join me and EiE’s members and supporters… along with ALL the Selectmen and Finance Committee members and our Town Manager… and cast your vote to APPROVE this amendment.

It is right… and it is fair… and it DOES NOT and WILL not result in diminished educational services for our children.

Don’t approve another unnecessary override… cleverly hidden inside the School Committee’s proposed budget.

Please vote YES... in favor of this amendment.

Thank you.

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The motion passed 181 to 128.  Congratulations to those who supported the Town budget, as amended.

UPDATE: Posted 5/22/2011: By now you have likely heard that the School Committee has abruptly TERMINATED the employment of Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan.  It makes you wonder about the "unexpected" expenses they touted at Town Meetings earlier this month in support of keeping the over-funded $500k of unspent taxpayer's money.  Also, does anyone else sense that they deliberately waited until AFTER Town Meetings were over to announce their reveiw of Dr. Buchanan...which in turn led to this unfortunate event?

Update: Things You Need To Know About The School Committee

Recently I posted an article on this blog titled: THERE'S A NEW GROUP IN HAMILTON & WENHAM (Enough Is NEVER Enough)

At the end of that posting, I added:

Question: If 8 out of 9 School Committee members were present at this meeting, shouldn't it have been posted as something other that a Finance Working Group meeting?  Smells a little like a violation of the Open Meeting Laws.  Anyone care to comment?

Fortunately, at least one resident did care and he looked into the issue and properly filed a complaint.  The attorney for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Committee researched the claim and had this to say:

"The School District recognizes that it violated the Open Meeting Law because a quorum of the full School Committee attended and deliberated at the Finance Working Group subcommittee meetings and a meeting of the School Committee was not posted in accordance with M.G.L Chapter 30A, Section 20."

As it turns out, the School Committee received training on the Open Meeting Law in July, 2010.  Their willingness to simply ignore the law and hold unposted School Committee meetings in which the new (contested) budget was discussed and deliberated and straw votes were taken is unexcusable as well as unlawful and shows that the lack of transparency within the School Committee is alive and well.  If not for this single citizen's complaint, the unlawful behavior would surely have continued.  If you wondered why the recent SC meeting, in which the new school budget was voted, appeared so well rehearsed and pre-determined... well, now you know.  The vote was rehearsed and pre-determined...unlawfully!

Read more about School Committee issues at The Hamilton-Wenham Patch.
Read more about School Committee issues at The Boston Globe, North Section.
Read more about the School Committee issues at The Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle.

Most of you will recall that the topic of TRUST was mentioned by several speakers at last year's Town Meetings in Hamilton and Wenham and it was reported in the Salem News by the late Steve Landwehr.  We were assured by the School Committee that trust would be restored and transparency created.

Obviously, that is simply not the case.  The only way to begin to break the arrogant behavior of this committee and restore trust is to vote out all incumbents running for re-election to the School Committee.  That will be a good start.  A beginning.

Here are a few other things to consider before you cast your vote:

• $300,000 was "found" in the HWRSD kindergarten account.
• $70,000 was "found" in the school choice account.
• $121,000 was "found" in the Medicaid account.
• $110,000 was "given back" to the teachers after they had agreed to one day without pay as part of their salary negotiations.
• $350,000 budgeted for unemployment was never needed or used.
• An extra $120,000 is available through Chapter 70 that was not included in the new school budget.
• There is a salary for a Latin teacher included in the new budget...but there is NO Latin teacher.

The Selectmen and Fincoms of both Hamilton and Wenham have voted to approve the School budget LESS $500,000.  Even with that, the new budget is $1 million MORE than what was spent last year.  That's not what I call "level funded", as the SC claims.

TRUST is earned... not demanded.  Vote wisely.


Update 5/6/2011: At this week's scheduled public meeting, the Chairman of the School Committee read a letter written by their attorney admitting that they had violated the Open Meeting Law on numerous occasions.  Shamefully, NO APOLOGY was proferred.  The chairman stated that "in the context of the new Open Meeting Law" what they did was a violation.  Actually, in the context of the old Open Meeting Law what they did was a violation as well, so let's not blame it on changes to the Open Meeting Law.