PETERSBURG – In a school board meeting, in front of a standing room-only crowd, an attorney representing the Upper Township Board of Education responded to recent media coverage of a $300,000 severance agreement the board entered when arranging to remove the superintendent mid-school year.
The attorney, Frank P. Cavallo Jr., read a statement prior to the public comment portion of the Jan. 23 meeting, offering the board’s first explanation of the agreement, which has had the community stirring.
“The Board of Education is aware of a recent headline regarding the district’s superintendent of schools, Mr. (Vincent) Palmieri, and a separation agreement with the Board of Education. The provisions of the separation agreement, including the payment amount, reflect a negotiated settlement for a 20-year employee who accrued tenure in the principal position and was, separately, entitled to receive significant monetary compensation under New Jersey law,” said Cavallo.
On page 11 of the five-year contract Palmieri entered with the board of education in 2018, which was to expire at the end of June, a preexisting tenure rights clause entitles him to become principal again if the board does not choose to renew him as superintendent.
Had Palmieri chosen to exercise his tenure right, he could have kicked off a domino effect that would send school administrators one rung down the ladder, starting with the current principal and continuing until the school administrator with the least seniority was out of a job, a source with knowledge of union education contracts in New Jersey explained to the Herald.
“Palmieri was arguably entitled to a greater amount of money than the amount he received through the separation agreement. As a tenured employee (principal), Mr. Palmieri had legal claims to a position in the district, in the event his contract as superintendent was not renewed. Mr. Palmieri, as part of the separation agreement, gave up those rights,” Cavallo added.
After the meeting, the attorney said the public statement was agreed on by Palmieri, who was represented by Maria Lepore in negotiations.
Cavallo said he was sitting in for board solicitor Brett Gorman. Gorman and Cavallo are both shareholders at the same firm, Parker McCay, and Cavallo is chair of the firm’s school law division.
He added that Palmieri was entitled to “tens of thousands of dollars” in compensation for unused sick and vacation time.
“Palmieri accepted less than he was entitled as part of this separation agreement and the Board of Education paid less than it would have been legally required to pay in order to end the relationship,” Cavallo continued.
Public Comments and Reaction
The statement from the board’s attorney did not prevent public criticism of the agreement during the meeting.
Mike Scanlan told the board he was at the meeting “to address the most recent scandal that surrounds this school board: The spending of over $300,000 in a separation agreement with our superintendent. We, the parents and taxpayers in Upper Township, expect and demand answers to why the board thought this would be a good idea.”
“I don’t want to go off, but I want to so bad. I said I was just going to stick to this,” Scanlan added, holding prepared remarks. “I have so much to say, so I am just going to stick to this.”
“It has become apparent that somewhere along the line, this board has forgotten who they work for, and who you work for are the parents and the taxpayers in Upper Township. You’re supposed to be serving our children, and from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t see too much of that going on,” said Scanlan, who said he pulled his kids from the district in November 2022.
“This move was made to protect our children, not from the teachers, not from the administration, but from this board. I see this as a battle of good versus evil, when I step back and look at the whole picture. Representing the evil is this board, and it starts at the top, and it trickles down,” Scanlan added.
Daniel Kilgallon, who made an unsuccessful bid to join the board this fall, said the money going to Palmieri could have gone to two years’ salary for a school resource officer, something he wishes the school district had.
Another speaker said that even if the board had to pay Palmieri the severance, they shouldn’t hire a replacement until he was off the books.
“You’re going to just have to have the principals work together, because we, as taxpayers, do not want to pay for two superintendent salaries,” the speaker, who could not be identified by the newspaper, said.
At times, things got fiery. One public speaker was interrupted by an audience member sticking up for the superintendent and board, and a tense exchange between the two ensued.
Another speaker, Seth Pashley, said the money for Palmieri takes away from other areas in the district, where funds were sorely needed, or teachers, who are dipping into their own pockets to buy supplies.
“Your $311,000 decision was done with complete equity for all. All students lost on the deal,” Pashley said.
Many speakers’ comments against the agreement were followed by rounds of applause from the assembled crowd.
Steve Martinelli, a former board member, stuck up for the board and tried to explain to the public that what was read by the attorney wasn’t sinking in.
“There’s obviously confusion as to what’s going on,” Martinelli said. “My recommendation, because of all the negative stuff in the press, is that you publish that statement in the press, so that people understand what’s going on with it, because they all think you made the wrong move.”
Gina Abarno Johnson said she wanted to thank the board for the explanation of Palmieri’s payout.
“I’m not sure why some people are having a hard time with that. I appreciate the explanation. It’s put it to rest for me,” she said.
Why So Much Redaction?
What was still unclear is why so much of the agreement with Palmieri was redacted from a copy distributed to the Herald in response to an Open Public Records Act request or why the board didn’t try to explain things to the public sooner.
“There was some accusation that the board hid this agreement,” Cavallo said, referring to media coverage of the deal. “The Board of Education is not permitted to publicly discuss an employee’s status or disclose information contained in an employee’s personnel records.
“However, the board approved this settlement at a public meeting and disclosed the separation agreement, with redactions it was required to make by law, through a request under Open Public Records Act. The separation agreement was also openly discussed at a public meeting. The board has consistently followed the law on public access to employee records and information.”
Superintendent Search Update
The ad hoc committee to search for the next superintendent consists of board members Tom McQuillen, Christine Lentz, Brian Teeney and Phil Schaffer.
McQuillen said Business Administrator Laurie Ryan and Interim Superintendent Christopher Kobik will also work with the committee.
McQuillen said there have been 24 applications received. They will accept applications until Feb. 3, he said.
Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the second week in February, McQuillen said.
Thoughts? Questions? Email the author, Shay Roddy, at sroddy@cmcherald.com.
