Residents Luke Gelinas and Darby O'Brien won a judgment in court that the School Committee raised Sayer's salary in executive session, or behind closed doors, in violation of the state Open Meeting Law.
The South Hadley School Committee recently upheld a 3 percent raise for Superintendent Gus Sayer.SOUTH HADLEY – On June 8, the School Committee reaffirmed its confidence in Superintendent Gus A. Sayer, upholding the 3 percent raise for him which was disputed because of a violation of meeting laws.
Two South Hadley residents last month won a judgment in court that the School Committee raised Sayer's salary in executive session, or behind closed doors, in violation of the state Open Meeting Law.
The School Committee was fined $5,000 for the violation and ordered to pay court fees for the residents, Luke Gelinas and Darby O'Brien. The raise vote was also invalidated.
For that reason, the superintendent's evaluation and a revote on the contract were on the June 8 agenda.
Gelinas and O'Brien have been vocal in their criticism of the school system for what they call its failure to protect the Phoebe Prince. The 15-year-old freshman killed herself in January 2010 after bullying by classmates.
Gelinas and O'Brien attended the meeting on June 8 to protest the superintendent's 3 percent raise.
Gelinas accused the committee of not advertising the meeting sufficiently, and suggested that members had planned to meet on a night when the Boston Bruins were playing in the Stanley Cup finals.
Gelinas was also critical that in the packet for the meeting were a couple of school-related items from The Republican, including a letter to the editor referring to "two residents who continue to badger the school committee and try their hardest to put a wedge in this community."
Dale Carey, chair of the School Committee, supported Sayer's continued presence on the job, but took exception to the raise. In spite of high marks in other areas, said Carey, the superintendent showed communication deficiencies in regard to the media and to settling conflicts among school staff.
With the exception of Carey, the School Committee voted to reconfirm the 3 percent raise to Sayer's estimated $125,000 salary.
Committee member Ed Boisselle described the superintendent's performance as a 70-hour-a-week job.
The committee also honored seven members of their community who are retiring, including South Hadley High School principal Daniel T. Smith, who was also caught up in the uproar following Prince's suicide.
Sayer praised Smith as "one of the finest principals I have ever known." He noted that Smith had spent most of his life at the high school, as a student for four years, a teacher for 33 years and principal for 11 years.
Also among the retirees was Beverly Atkinson, a revered fourth-grade teacher at Mosier Elementary School, whose experience includes teaching on an Indian reservation in Florida.