Buchanan Negotiation Details Nearing Release

The “mutual agreement” between Dr. Raleigh Buchanan and the School Committee has been signed but the seven-day window to back out of the agreement has yet to pass, according to Committee Chairman Alexa McCloughan.

McCloughan on Tuesday didn’t say when the agreement was signed but said the agreement, as well as the minutes of the executive session where the agreement was negotiated, will be released once the seven day period expires.

Buchanan and the School Committee said their “mutual interests will be best served by bringing the relationship to a conclusion” on May 19. Assistant Superintendent Peter Gray is expected to be named the interim superintendent on Tuesday night.

McCloughan last week also assured the public that minutes from the executive session on May 19 would be a detailed document. She said the School Committee’s minutes taker, Ann Smith, said in on the session and took minutes.

McCloughan’s comments came a day after Hamilton resident George LaMontagne, at a , said he was concerned about how detailed the minutes would be from the nearly two hour long executive session. He said his concerns were based on the minutes from working group minutes from earlier this year “which told you absolutely nothing.”

LaMontagne in regard to those meeting, which were posted as working group minutes but instead the full committee met and deliberated. The School Committee later admitted it violated the Open Meeting Law at those meetings.

The School Committee’s attorney, Naomi Stonberg, in her response to LaMontagne, noted that the minutes for several of the committee’s working group meetings were not complete.

“I have noticed that the Finance Working Group Meeting Minutes are very brief and should contain more information,” Stonberg wrote. “The School Committee understands that it needs to take more detailed minutes of School Committee meetings and will comply in the future.”