Settlement agreements with the former Student Services director and associate director, obtained by the Current, show that the Marblehead school district will pay nearly $120,000 to cover Paula Donnelly and Emily Dean’s salaries through the end of the school year. The district will also pay to keep them on health insurance through June 2024.
In response to a public records request, the district on Jan. 17 released Donnelly and Dean’s contracts and settlement agreements. Interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness announced on Jan. 1 that Donnelly and Dean had stepped down.
Donnelly’s contract, which was to have run from July 2022 to June 2024, was for $135,000 per year. Dean’s, for the same time period, was $101,678 per year.
The settlement agreements, signed by McGuinness on Dec. 29, included non-disparagement clauses.
Donnelly and Dean had been under fire since a student restraint crisis came to light on Dec. 4, and McGuinness placed four Glover School educators on paid leave while the district reviewed its restraint policies. Those educators remain on leave.
The Marblehead Educators Association announced a “no confidence” vote in Donnelly and Dean and later dozens of teachers packed a School Committee meeting to protest the Student Services leadership.
Just five months ago, the School Committee signed a separation agreement with then-superintendent John Buckey, awarding him nearly $200,000.
The School Committee is set to meet Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m., and a staffing update is on the agenda.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.