1. BREAKING NEWS: Superintendent agrees to leave

August 2, 2023

At 2:20 p.m., Chair Sarah Fox sent out a “joint press release” on behalf of the School Committee and superintendent saying, “The Marblehead Public School Committee and Dr. John Buckey have come to an acceptable agreement resulting in his resignation as Superintendent of Schools.

Former Superintendent John Buckey outside the Brown School. *CURRENT* PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

The statement continued, “Dr. Buckey’s resignation comes after several days of contract negotiations. Dr. Buckey deeply appreciates the opportunity to have served his community, and the Marblehead Public School Committee thanks Dr. Buckey for his three-plus years of service. The committee wishes him the best as he pursues other opportunities in the field of education.”

The Current has learned that the agreement will pay Buckey his normal salary through December, or approximately $80,500. The School Committee will also pay Buckey the $94,350 specified in his contract for terminating it without cause, bringing the total to nearly $175,000.

Both Buckey and the School Committee have agreed to release one another from any legal claims they may have. However, that release will be voided if either side violates the mutual non-disparagement clause in the agreement.

The announcement culminates two weeks of speculation about Buckey’s future. The School Committee had met twice in executive session (closed to the public) and held one public Zoom meeting, which Fox adjourned after one minute, saying she was acting on advice of counsel.

Long has said the School Committee never revealed why it wanted to oust Buckey.

The Marblehead School Committee *CURRENT* PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

“We have not been told the basis for this action,” he said last week.

Fox has repeatedly declined to comment on the board’s motives.

It’s unclear who is in charge in the district now. Fox said she named Assistant Superintendent for Finance Michelle Cresta the superintendent designee last week, but it’s not known whether Cresta will serve as interim superintendent this fall. Fox and Cresta have declined to comment.

Buckey subsequently released his own statement: “I arrived in Marblehead during the COVID-19 pandemic’s darkest days; schools were closed. The district was relying on outdated tools, technology, processes and practices. During my tenure,
we made significant progress academically, implementing new curricula in mathematics and
ELA, aligning teaching and learning across our elementary schools, and ensuring that all
students were receiving rich, robust, state-of-the-art instruction. We updated technology to
present-day standards, made significant improvements to safety and established a five-year
plan for success. We implemented iReady, an assessment system, to monitor student progress,
and we have seen growth in scores across the district. We maintained a healthy working
relationship with the teachers’ union, as evidenced by a three-year lack of grievances.”

Buckey’s statement concludes, “Finally, I would like to thank the good people of Marblehead. You have welcomed me and my husband into this community and been allies in the work to make Marblehead great. To my colleagues in town government past and present – Jason Silva and Thatcher Kezer, Jackie Belf-Becker, Moses Grader, Jim Nye, Jason Gilliland, Bob Picariello, Dennis King – among countless other dedicated and tireless Marblehead leaders, I appreciate your collaboration and support as we navigated tumultuous times and issues together.”

Timeline

In June, the committee gave Buckey his third straight “proficient” rating on his annual review. In 2021, it extended his contract by two years and in 2022, it awarded him a 2.5% raise.

Prior to the agreement being reached, Marblehead resident Cathyann Swindlehurst had filed an Open Meeting law violation complaint against the School Committee, which demanded a public discussion about Buckey’s future.

You can see the full timeline of events in this superintendent controversy HERE.

2. School Committee ratifies superintendent separation agreement, hears from angry residents

August 11, 2023

After listening to an hour of largely critical public comments, the School Committee voted Friday to ratify its nearly $175,000 separation agreement with former superintendent John Buckey. It was the first public meeting on the superintendent controversy, which began in July.

The School Committee met in public session on Friday, Aug. 11. *CURRENT* PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

The committee announced Buckey’s departure on Aug. 2. “Out of an abundance of caution” and to ensure it was complying with the state’s Open Meeting Law, the board scheduled Friday’s meeting to ratify with a public vote a decision it had reached in executive session. Friday’s vote was 3-1, with member Meagan Taylor dissenting and Brian Ota recusing himself due to his still-pending discrimination complaint against Buckey.

“Thanks to this committee for finally admitting the public, even if as the Romans would say, the spear has been thrown and you have ejected Dr. Buckey from his job at a cost of at least $174,000, plus legal fees, plus interim costs, plus search-related expenses all to be funded not by you but by the Marblehead taxpayer,” said resident Rhod Sharp during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, prior to the ratification vote. “I hope that you are about to lift the veil and tell us why Dr. Buckey was ejected one year into a three-year contract — something you haven’t done so far.”

The committee did not divulge any information about why it wanted to oust Buckey, with Chair Sarah Fox citing advice of the board’s attorney.

Resident Mimi Hollister demanded more transparency moving forward.

She continued, “Finally, I hope that in the future you will indeed be truly transparent and not just cleverly politic in what you think you can get away with not disclosing, as happened in this past election. It’s the hidden agendas that caused the current uproar.”

More than a dozen people, in person at the high school library and on Zoom, expressed disappointment and anger at the way the School Committee handled the superintendent situation, complaining that it was done in secrecy and questioning members’ motives.

Former School Committee member Sarah Gold, who recently called for the full committee to resign, reiterated that request and added, “I will formally request that if you don’t resign, you schedule a public forum after school starts to address your behavior this summer and the implications and costs associated with this situation. It is important that we continue to hold our leaders’ feet to the fire.”

Gold continued, “Parents have still not received an email stating anything about Dr. Buckey’s departure, let alone the cost it is bringing to the district and what impacts these things will have as school opens. If we had extra money laying around to pay an employee to leave, why are parents paying to ensure there is a full sports program this year? Why did we just layoff over a dozen staff, causing us to incur unemployment expenses if there was so much money to spare? Why are you scheduling public meetings in the middle of a Friday afternoon in August? You are not allowed to hide from questions like these.”

Two people spoke in support of the School Committee, including John DiPiano.

“I’m disturbed at the hostility and vitriol being directed at the people who volunteer and were elected to the School Committee,” he said. “I find it disturbing that a former School Committee member would try and disenfranchise voters of this community by asking members of the present School Committee to resign.”

Frank Kasner joined on Zoom to say the School Committee must have had a good reason to try and part ways with Buckey.

“You will never know the reason for his termination, and you must assume that it was worthy of termination,” he said.

Addressing the School Committee via Zoom, Nanny McCarriston said, “It’s a shame that the surrounding communities are looking at Marblehead, and they are at laughing at us. You have turned this into a circus in less than two months. It’s disgusting what you’ve done.”

Charles Gessner said because the committee refused to comment on the termination of the former superintendent, the community has had to speculate about why Buckey left.

“If you haven’t had your head in the sand, you’ve probably heard the reasons that I hear all the time, and one is that a new member of the School Committee didn’t have his contract renewed and this is payback time,” Gessner said, referring to Ota. “The other is the school board has a problem with an outwardly gay superintendent. I hope that’s not the case.”

Nina Pickering Cook, a municipal attorney who lives in Marblehead, said, “No one was going to believe you that Dr. Buckey voluntarily resigned. Dr. Buckey signed an agreement with you after it became clear that he was going to be terminated. Certainly, everyone knows he was forced out.”

Cook questioned why the School Committee acted so quickly. “You all acted as if there was an immediate concern with him continuing in the district. If the concern was about his professional competence, then I am incredibly concerned you took such rash action given the financial circumstances that you’ve left us in … and given that it is two or three weeks before school starting.”

Jonathan Heller said he was speaking as a parent and teacher and not in his role as co-chair of the teachers’ union.

“I am worried about the health of our teachers,” he said. “Teachers are reading the comments online, and it does impact their health. Students are hearing us talk. It’s time that we come together.”

Previously, Heller had publicly supported Buckey as the committee was in talks to remove him.

Before Friday’s vote, School Committee member Meagan Taylor expressed her concerns.

“I think at this point, I have no choice but to accept the resignation,” she said. “I am just so profoundly disappointed that this is where we’re at. We did not effectively manage this superintendent. If there were concerns about his performance we should have addressed them. He just passed an evaluation with a proficient rating. That was the time to bring up concerns. We haven’t ethically managed him.”

She continued, “As a result of that, the district is at significant risk. We’re already stretched in our budget. We shouldn’t be spending any additional money.”

Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta addressed how the district would cover the cost of Buckey’s separation agreement and the School Committee’s legal fees.

“There are two primary areas,” she said. “First is that the School Committee had budgeted $420,000 for unemployment costs due to staffing eliminations from the no-override budget. Most of the staff in the 33 positions ended up resigning before the end of the year year, and we only ended up laying off a handful of individuals. Because they didn’t end up being laid off, we’re no longer responsible for unemployment benefits for those employees. This creates about $150,000 to $200,000 available in that unemployment line.

She continued, “Also, we will have available funding in our staffing lines because a significant number of our new hires are coming in a lower salaries than we planned. This additional savings is $100,000 to $250,000. In these two areas we should be able to absorb $250,000 to $350,000.”

Taylor said that money should be used for student-facing needs.

After the vote, Fox defended herself against the public criticism.

“Personnel matters and student information is privileged for a reason, to protect these individuals as appropriate,” Fox said. “It’s not that I don’t understand your frustration. I do. It’s not that I think you’re not due more information. If I could answer questions in the last month I’ve been asked, I think that would have turned the vitriol down.”

Member Jennifer Schaeffner added, “I did not take this or any other vote lightly or without profound research and thought… and actually prayer.”

Member Alison Taylor added, “We need to be the model not only for each other and for other people in the community, but for our children.”

Open Meeting Law violation complaints

The School Committee voted (3-1) to find “no violation” in response to an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by resident Cathyann Swindlehurst, on advice of counsel. It also tossed a complaint from parent Reece Dahlberg saying it wasn’t complete.

Swindlehurst said she plans to appeal the committee’s decision to the state Attorney General’s Office.

What’s next?

At the end of the 2 1/2 hour meeting, the School Committee met in executive (private) session to vote on a request by the Current to release minutes and other materials from the July 21 and 31 executive sessions. Fox said those minutes may be released on Monday. Stay with the Current for more coverage.

Also, the committee voted to formalize Cresta’s position of acting superintendent through Oct. 31. She will continue her role as assistant superintendent of finance also. Meanwhile, the Committee will begin its search for an interim superintendent.

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3. BREAKING NEWS: School Committee minutes hint at reasons for superintendent’s departure

August 14, 2023

Late Monday, the School Committee released minutes from two July executive (private) sessions revealing that the committee took action to remove Superintendent John Buckey over a complaint of bullying on an athletic team, in addition to “other concerns brought forth to the committee on other matters.”

School Committee Chair Sarah Fox declined to comment about what those other concerns were.

“The minutes speak for themselves,” she told the Current. “I cannot elaborate any further.”

The Current reported last month about an investigation (led by an outside attorney) that found the now-former coach of the Marblehead High School girls soccer team had engaged in “unintentional bullying” of players. There were no accusations of physical abuse. That coach was not asked to return this fall.

Buckey is not mentioned in the report. The meeting minutes do not detail any links between Buckey and the report.

July 2023 Executive Session Minutes Download

Buckey’s attorney Mike Long said last month that the then-superintendent handled the coach situation responsibly. Buckey met with the player, her parents, then-principal Dan Bauer and Athletic Director Greg Ceglarski in late August. At that point, the player only complained about playing time and alleged favoritism.

“As a result of the conversation, a plan was developed for the principal and AD to facilitate a meeting with the coach, the parents and the student-athlete,” Long said. “Principal Bauer’s recollection of the meeting aligns with Dr. Buckey’s and Mr. Bauer has put that in writing.”

Buckey didn’t hear about the case again until October, when he was alerted to an investigation initiated under the state’s anti-bullying law.

“As Marblehead’s policies dictate, the investigation was initiated by the Student Services Director, Paula Donnelly,” Long said. “For reasons of ensuring the integrity of the investigation Dr. Buckey did not contact the investigator, nor was he instructed by Marblehead’s counsel to do so. In fact, it would have been inappropriate for him to do so as Marblehead’s policies, the law, and good sense do not permit him to thumb the scales of an investigation one way or another.”

Non-disparagement clause?

The minutes also show that the committee asked its attorney to pursue an amicable separation with Buckey. However, member Alison Taylor spoke against including a non-disparagement clause because she said it would prevent members from “correcting misinformation circulating in the community.”

Shortly before the second of the two executive sessions adjourned, the board voted 3-1, with Meagan Taylor opposed, to not include a mutual non-disparagement clause in the committee’s second separation agreement offer to Buckey, though the motion also allowed the board’s attorney, Colby Brunt, to “negotiate on those terms if necessary.”

Ultimately, the non-disparagement clause was included and Buckey and the committee settled on Buckey being placed on paid administrative leave for the rest of the calendar year and receiving the $94,000 buyout specified in his contract, for a total payout of nearly $175,000.

The minutes note that Buckey’s attorney had been asking for him to be paid the full amount due under his contract through June 30, 2025, including a 5 percent increase for each year and full benefits, which the board found unacceptable.

Public gets its say

The School Committee listens to pubic comments about the superintendent’s departure on Aug. 11.

After listening to an hour of largely critical public comments, the School Committee voted Friday to ratify its agreement with Buckey. It was the first public meeting on the superintendent controversy, which began in July.

The committee did not divulge any information about why it wanted to oust Buckey, with Chair Sarah Fox citing advice of the board’s attorney.

Mimi Hollister demanded more transparency moving forward.

“I hope the School Committee will be upfront with your agenda, spelled out honestly and clearly for all of us, so we don’t have to guess at what you might really be planning next,” she said. “I hope you don’t have a hidden agenda, such as banning books or disparaging DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion workshops.”
She continued, “Finally, I hope that in the future you will indeed be truly transparent and not just cleverly politic in what you think you can get away with not disclosing, as happened in this past election. It’s the hidden agendas that caused the current uproar.”

Frank Kasner joined on Zoom to say the School Committee must have had a good reason to try and part ways with Buckey.

“You will never know the reason for his termination, and you must assume that it was worthy of termination,” he said.

Charles Gessner said because the committee refused to comment on the termination of the former superintendent, the community has had to speculate about why Buckey left.

Jonathan Heller said he was speaking as a parent and teacher and not in his role as co-chair of the teachers’ union.

Previously, Heller had publicly supported Buckey as the committee was in talks to remove him.
Before Friday’s vote, School Committee member Meagan Taylor expressed her concerns.

“I think at this point, I have no choice but to accept the resignation,” she said. “I am just so profoundly disappointed that this is where we’re at. We did not effectively management this superintendent. If there were concerns about his performance we should have addressed them. He just passed an evaluation with a proficient rating. That was the time to bring up concerns. We haven’t ethically managed him.”

She continued, “As a result of that, the district is at significant risk. We’re already stretched in our budget. We shouldn’t be spending any additional money.”

Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta addressed how the district would cover the cost of Buckey’s separation agreement and the School Committee’s legal fees.

Taylor said that money should be used for student-facing needs.

After the vote, Fox defended herself against the public criticism.

Member Jennifer Schaeffner added, “I did not take this or any other vote lightly or without profound research and thought… and actually prayer.”

Member Alison Taylor added, “We need to be the model not only for each other and for other people in the community, but for our children.”

Open Meeting Law violation complaints

Swindlehurst said she plans to appeal the committee’s decision to the state Attorney General’s Office.

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4. Deleted School Committee texts leave gap in trove of communications about former superintendent

September 1, 2023

More than 275 pages of just-released text messages and emails between School Committee members, attorneys and Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta show that in the days leading up to former superintendent John Buckey’s departure, the School Committee discussed a bullying investigation of the now-former MHS girls soccer coach and one other parent complaint about administrators. (The released texts and emails can be viewed HERE.)

More than 275 pages of text messages and emails released to the *Current* after a public records request. CURRENT PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

However, there may be some missing information about what led the committee to move to oust Buckey.

“With respect to the text messages from Michelle Cresta, Alison Taylor and Jennifer Schaeffner; those messages were erased by the users prior to this request,” wrote records access officer Lisa Dimier in an email to the Current. The response continued, “Text messages from Sarah Fox to Alison Taylor; those messages were lost due to a technical error.”

The Current asked for the communications in a public records request and is appealing to the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to see the deleted and lost texts.

Fox told the Current that one of her children was playing on her phone and accidentally deleted Taylor’s contact information, which may have then deleted text messages to and from Taylor.

As for her colleagues’ deleted messages, Fox said, “We don’t have a policy on that. We need to establish best practices” by researching how other districts handle communication.

Colby Brunt, an attorney for the schools, told the Current, “I am advising them [School Committee members] that moving forward they should be maintaining any business-related text messages even if those are on their personal devices.”

Just last year, Brunt had given the committee a presentation on the state’s Open Meeting Law and public records as part of the School Committee’s annual retreat on July 19, 2022.

In a summary of the public records law included in the packet for that meeting, Brunt wrote, bolding the first sentence, “A caution about email and text messages: Emails made and received by public officials are subject to disclosure unless one of the statutory exemptions applies. As with any effective communication, content and choice of words in emails must be tailored to the anticipated audience, which could include the general public.”

In the discussion during the meeting, Brunt reiterated, “Text messages — on your own cell phone, too — those can be reachable.”

Soccer family email

The School Committee at a meeting this summer. *CURRENT* PHOTO / LEIGH BLANDER

Among the documents the School Department released is a July 17 email from a parent of a Marblehead High School girls soccer player. The parent stated that the administration was not responsive enough to complaints about the team’s coach in 2022 and requested an opportunity to tell their story to the School Committee in an executive (private) session.

“I can tell you that there was never a School Committee meeting with any family as a result of an email on July 17 and the underlined soccer investigation,” Brunt said. “I cannot speak to whether any individuals might’ve met with the family.”

A $26,000 outside investigation in the fall of 2022 determined the coach had committed “unintentional bullying” as defined under state law due to poor communication skills.

Text messages

Text messages between Fox and Schaeffner dating back to June 30, 2023 (just 10 days after Schaeffner’s election and one day after her first meeting), refer to contacting Brunt.

There are also texts between Fox and Schaeffner on July 2 about scheduling an executive session.

“Tom called. Again.” Fox wrote, apparently referring to another school attorney, Tom Delmar. “After reviewing, no exec session for tomorrow. Can update you… Give a call whenever.”

It’s unclear what was going to be on that meeting’s agenda and why Delmar recommended canceling it.

There is another reference in texts between Fox and Schaeffner on July 13 about contacting Brunt.

Final days

The School Committee ultimately held executive sessions on July 21 and 31. It then announced a nearly $175,000 separation agreement with Buckey on Aug. 2. Executive session minutes (released after a public records request by the Current) obliquely referred to the athletics coach situation as a reason for Buckey’s departure.

Buckey and his attorney have both said the committee never told them why he was asked to leave.

One other parent complaint

The Current also asked for records of all parent complaints against Buckey.

Dimier explained that a log of such complaints does not exist but that there were two documented in the emails provided to the Current.

Aside from the complaint related to the girls soccer coach, the other was from a parent who emailed in July, upset about her child’s school principal and Buckey.

“We had a terrible experience with several school administrators throughout the 22-23 school year,” the email reads. “When we escalated our concern to the superintendent last December, he responded that he had full trust in the school principal’s decision. My goal is to not have another child and family go through what our child and family went through (and past MPS children come to find out) and to give my child a chance to return to our town school system and have a healthy high school experience, since he is determined to do so.”

Other text and email findings

July 2: In a text exchange between Buckey and School Committee member Meaghan Taylor, Buckey asked if Taylor would be attending an upcoming committee workshop. “I should be able to attend, depending on the time,” Taylor said. Buckey answered, “Wrong answer,” with a laughing emoji.

July 19: In a text exchange between Buckey and Taylor, Buckey wrote, “Mike Long [Buckey’s attorney] is now demanding that I send this letter to the school committee and I just want to make sure that the revisions I have made are ok.” Taylor replied, “OK, I’ll have a quick look and give you a call around 6.”

July 21: Fox texted Schaeffner just before an executive session, “The lunatics are in waiting room too so I’m wondering if I should pause and admit everyone at the same time or at least until I admit Meagan [Taylor] or Colby first so Meagan can’t claim an open meeting violation.” It’s unclear to whom Fox was referring as “lunatics.”

July 26: Fox emailed Cresta asking if Cresta could make her aware of all public records requests the district received moving forward.

“I just don’t want to be caught unprepared on something big like this,” Fox texted after posting a link to a Current story in which the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents criticized the committee.

Fox then went on to reference something that happened at a June 2023 School Committee meeting.

At the request of then-School Committee member Tom Mathers, Buckey compiled a slide listing all the Freedom of Information Act requests the district had received, along with their associated costs to the district. Among those listed was a request for the soccer coach investigation report.

Several others were attributed to Schaeffner, who in addition to serving on the School Committee remains one of the editors of the Marblehead Beacon website.

“John [Buckey] put this all in motion when he put that FOIA list up with intent to hurt Jenn’s electability,” Fox continued.

Cresta replied, “I agree that he should not have done that.”

July 15: Schaeffner texted Fox a Boston Globe article about the conservative group Parents Defending Education trying to shut down programs in Newton and Milton that focused on supporting students of color.

Parents Defending Education also criticized Newton North High School Principal and Marblehead resident Henry Turner for speaking to teachers and students in Marblehead.

Turner, a renowned diversity, equity and inclusion educator, billed the district a reduced “hometown” rate, which was covered by a grant Marblehead accessed through its participation in the METCO program, Buckey said at the time.

As allowed by law, the district provided in its initial response to the Current’s records request a cost estimate of between $575 and $700 to fulfill it, calculated by multiplying the lowest hourly wage of an employee capable of searching for, segregating and redacting the records — $25 per hour — by the time it would take to complete those tasks, between 25 and 30 hours.

The Current was required to pay in advance for the work to be completed.

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5. Superintendent Buckey ‘early termination’ controversy timeline

July 28, 2023

The following is a timeline of events leading up to the Superintendent John Buckey’s departure on August 2.

July 2020

Buckey hired

School Committee hires Dr. John Buckey as superintendent, following Maryann Perry and interim Bill McAlduff.

July 2021

Contract extended

School Committee gives Buckey a “proficient” rating on his performance review and extends his contract for another two years, until 2025. The vote is 4-1 with Sarah Fox dissenting. (Fox is now the committee chair.)

June 2022

Buckey receives raise

School Committee approves 2.5% raise for Buckey following a “proficient” performance review rating. Vote is 4-1, with Fox the lone dissenter.

Spring / summer 2022

Ota leaves Glover

Brian Ota’s contract as Glover School principal is not renewed.

Summer 2022

Ota files discrimination complaint

Ota files a complaint against Buckey with Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

June 6, 2023

Buckey rated “proficient”

School Committee votes 5-0 to give Buckey a “proficient” rating on his performance review.

June 20, 2023

Ota and Schaeffner elected

Ota and Jenn Schaeffner are elected to the School Committee.

June 22, 2023

Ota files possible conflict of interest report

Ota files “possible appearance of conflict of interest” report with town clerk immediately after being sworn in.

June 29, 2023

School Committee meeting

New School Committee meets for the first time.

July 21, 2023

First executive session

School Committee holds executive session with the district’s attorney to discuss Buckey’s contract. Ota recuses himself, after checking with state Ethics Commission.

July 24, 2023

Public meeting scheduled

The School Committee scheduled a Zoom meeting for Wednesday evening, July 26, with the agenda item “Superintendent Contract – Early Termination Clause”.

July 26, 2023

One-minute meeting

After less than one minute, the School Committee adjourns a virtual meeting with more than 235 people tuned in to discuss Buckey’s early termination, citing advice of counsel.

July 26, 2023

Police respond to report of balloon

Police respond to a report of a balloon (with eyes and a mustache drawn on it) tied to the residence of a School Committee member. Police Chief King says the incident is not necessarily related to the recent events.

July 27, 2023

Cresta announced as supt. designee

School Committee Chair Sarah Fox sends an email to district directors stating that Assistant Superintendent of Finance Michelle Cresta has been named the superintendent designee.

July 31, 2023

Second executive session held

The School Committee held another executive session (closed to the public) to discuss Buckey’s contract. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., the meeting was adjourned to executive session about a minute later, with Ota again recusing himself.

Aug. 2, 2023

Buckey/School Committee announce his departure

School Committee Chair Sarah Fox releases a joint statement with John Buckey announcing his departure. The SC will pay Buckey nearly $175K.

Aug. 11, 2023

Separation agreement ratified

“Out of an abundance of caution” and to ensure it was complying with the state’s Open Meeting Law, the School Committee votes to ratify its separation agreement with Buckey. The vote comes after the board is subjected to an hour of largely critical public comments during its first public meeting since the superintendent controversy began.

Sept. 1, 2023