Claremont
Board Chairwoman Sara Lowe on Friday declined to comment on the board’s decision to sever employment ties with Superintendent Middleton McGoodwin no later than June 30, citing state law. McGoodwin was supposed to begin a three-year contract extension this summer.
Lowe said the board held a nonpublic session on personnel on May 10, at the end of its monthly meeting, though she did not state the employee involved.
“The SAU Board respects the privacy of each of its employees, including the Superintendent,” Lowe wrote in an email to the Valley News. “Because this matter is a personnel matter, the SAU Board voted to seal the minutes from that meeting. At this time, the SAU 6 Board has no further comment.”
A copy of a letter obtained Thursday by the Valley News makes clear the SAU School Board voted earlier this month to fire McGoodwin effective June 30, if he does not resign before the middle of next month.
The 71-year-old McGoodwin was hired in 2011 and three years later, signed a new contract approved by the SAU 6 board that expires June 30. However, in 2016, the SAU board approved a contract extension for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021. Both contracts pay McGoodwin $127,500 annually, but each allows for upward adjustments in salary if approved by the board.
According to the public minutes from the May 10 SAU meeting, McGoodwin attended the public portion of the meeting, which was attended by all board members except Michelle Pierce of Claremont and Prudence McCormick of Unity. Jason Benware of Claremont and Robert McDevitt of Unity participated via speaker phone.
McGoodwin, who was not part of the nonpublic session, said he was handed a letter in his office on Tuesday by Lowe, SAU 6 Vice Chairman Mike Petrin, of Claremont, and Claremont School Board Chairman Frank Sprague informing him that the board “voted” to find new “educational leadership for the SAU” and would thus exercise its right to terminate his contract agreement.
McGoodwin said on Thursday he did not expect the board’s decision. The letter, signed by Lowe and Petrin, gave McGoodwin the option to resign at the next SAU 6 meeting on June 14. McGoodwin said on Thursday he has not resigned.
In response to the letter from Lowe and Petrin, McGoodwin said, “I intend to be thoughtful, and knowledgeable, as I process the SAU 6 School Board’s action, to determine what steps will be necessary to be least disruptive to the overall well-being of the SAU 6 School District.”
The “termination with payment” portion of McGoodwin’s contract provides him with six months severance and 12 months health insurance whether he resigns or is fired.
Lowe would not comment on the vote by the board or provide the wording of any motion or how each board member voted. Also unclear is whether the entire board saw the letter to McGoodwin and approved it before it was delivered. Board members contacted on Thursday, including Sprague, Petrin, Benware, Steven Horsky and Rebecca Zullo, all of Claremont, either had no comment or did not respond.
McGoodwin said on Thursday he had no indication from the May 10 meeting that his employment was in jeopardy.
Action by the SAU board comes after an extremely divisive budget review in Claremont when tempers flared more than once at public meetings. McGoodwin refused to go along willingly with the steep cuts that a slim majority of the board made to his proposal. In the end, the board voted, 4-3, to adopt a budget that essentially is equal to the current year’s spending. Voters approved the spending plan in March.
According to the public minutes from the May 10 meeting, the board discussed the superintendent’s performance evaluation that was based on a subcommittee report.
“(Chairwoman) Lowe asked the board to review the documents that had been passed out for the superintendent’s evaluation and preliminary evaluation and come back to the meeting on June 14 with questions or concerns,” the minutes state.
The board then went into the nonpublic session.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
