By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Town Counsel Tom Mullen will be handling all legal matters with embattled Superintendent Kristen Vogel going forward.
The School Committee approved a joint letter of representation and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Select Board pertaining to Vogel during a Jan. 9 meeting. Vogel has been on a medical leave of absence since Dec. 4.
“We are voting to approve a change in our School Committee legal counsel,” said School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio. “Specifically we are approving the joint letter of representation and the MOU, memorandum of understanding, as we accept town of Lynnfield lawyer, Tom Mullen. As we move forward, the School Committee values the experience and the collaboration of Town Administrator Rob Dolan, who can be present and consulting in our executive sessions as requested by the School Committee.”
DePrizio said all three School Committee members, Acting Superintendent Tom Geary, Dolan and the Select Board have reviewed the legal documents.
“We have ensured that both parties, the Select Board and the School Committee, are clear on confidentiality, communication and it establishes the School Committee as a client,” said DePrizio. “We greatly appreciate everyone’s time, thoughtfulness and partnership in this matter.”
The School Committee approved the joint letter of representation and the MOU in roll call votes.
Similar to the last several meetings, the School Committee voted to enter into executive session in order to “conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion central office leadership personnel, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 21.” Dolan and Mullen attended executive session.
Mullen recalled in the joint letter of representation that the School Committee has its own legal counsel, but said the committee and the Select Board want him to handle the legal matters with Vogel going forward.
“The town currently faces certain legal issues with respect to Superintendent Vogel,” Mullen wrote in the letter. “The committee is solely responsible for her appointment and oversight, and constitutes her employer under her contract of employment. However, both the committee and the board desire to work together toward a resolution of the said issues, which will be in the best interest of the town. For that reason, I have been asked by both the board and the committee to represent and assist the committee in connection with its relations with Superintendent Vogel.”
Mullen stated in the memorandum of understanding that “certain issues have arisen concerning” Vogel and her contract, which the School Committee extended last September. The school board unanimously voted last month to hire a third party to conduct an investigation into determining whether “a breach of school district policy, law, contract or accepted standards of professional conduct” occurred.
Additionally, Mullen stated in the MOU that Dolan “shall be invited to participate as a non-voting consultant at any executive session” where the School Committee discusses Vogel and her contract.
“Mr. Dolan shall be free to disclose to the board any and all confidential information that he receives from an executive session of the committee, provided that he does so at an executive session of the board,” Mullen stated. “Mr. Dolan shall also be free to communicate such confidential information to (Select Board) member Richard Dalton, acting in his capacity as liaison between the board and the committee, provided that Mr. Dalton not disclose such confidential information to any other person, including any board member, except at an executive session of the board.”
Additionally, Mullen stated in the MOU that the Select Board “agrees not to conduct an executive session concerning the superintendent unless and until the committee reaches a tentative agreement with her.”
The Select Board also has to approve the joint letter of representation and the MOU. The Select Board’s next meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 23.
LTA update
In addition to focusing on the ongoing issues with Vogel, school officials have begun implementing two of the action items that were requested by the Lynnfield Teachers Association last month.
Geary recalled that one of the LTA’s 12 action items included in the “Lynnfield Teachers Association Resolution to Address the Crisis in Our School Community” requested school officials to “give educators the option of self-directed planning time for all remaining half days in the 2023-2024 school year.”
After previously holding a professional development day where educators had self-directed planning time on Jan. 3, Geary said there are four early release days remaining for the rest of the school year.
“We decided to allow the teachers to have three sessions out of those five for their own preparations, to work together and have their self-directed study,” said Geary. “The remaining two will be at the administration’s discretion.”
Geary also noted that a number of educators, support staff and families have expressed frustration with the rollout of the Wit and Wisdom literacy curriculum initiative. The new initiative was first implemented in grades K-4 last year and began being implemented in grade 5 this year.
“We have worked out a plan with the elementary teachers where we will be continuing on,” said Geary. “We have been able to add prep time for each teacher for 30 to 45 minutes per week to allow for Wit and Wisdom work. Maureen Fennessy, our elementary English language arts curriculum director, will be leading that. Hopefully that will ease some of the burden that there was not enough time to work on the materials.”
Geary said Lynnfield Middle School is reassessing the implementation of Wit and Wisdom in grade 5.
“We are not throwing it out, but we are pausing it a little bit,” said Geary. “We are going to review for the rest of the year where we are at with that, and we are going to try to pull the segments out that are most relevant for ELA combined with things we have used in the past. It will be more manageable for the teachers and more streamlined for the grade 4 and 5 transition.”
In addition to seeking additional prep time, the LTA’s resolution requested that educators and staff be involved with “any changes to curriculum and instruction moving forward.”
