HAVERHILL — Mayor James Fiorentini said yesterday he is "outraged" that the principal of Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High is still getting paid her $120,869 annual salary, even though she's not showing up for work.
The Eagle-Tribune has filed a formal request under the state Public Records Act for a copy of Principal Deborah DePaolo's contract with Whittier. Whittier Superintendent William DeRosa said Wednesday that on the advice of the school's lawyer, he could not release a copy of the agreement because it is a personnel record.
Yesterday, The Eagle-Tribune challenged the school's refusal to release the contract. The Secretary of State's Office will consider the request. Attorney Jeffrey Pyle, who represents the newspaper, said a contract between a school district and an employee is not exempt from the public records law.
DePaolo has been on paid leave for at least the last two months and that will continue for the rest of the school year, DeRosa said. Asked how the school can defend the pay-without-work status, DeRosa said DePaolo's contract mandates it.
DeRosa announced DePaolo's resignation at the Whittier Regional School Committee's Feb. 24 meeting. Her resignation will take effect at the end of the school year, he said. In December, he sent a memo to Whittier staff members explaining that DePaolo had gone on leave to pursue a higher education degree.
Pyle, of the Boston law firm Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye, said DePaolo's contract is not shielded from public scrutiny and therefore should be released to The Eagle-Tribune.
"The Public Records Act does not exempt contracts between municipalities and officers or employees from the requirement of public disclosure,'' Pyle said. "Although there is an exemption for personnel records in the Public Records Act, that applies to such documents as performance evaluations and other materials that are useful for making employment decisions."
He also said there is "no authority in case law" for hiding a school administrator's contract.
The mayor said he has asked Haverhill's two representatives on the Whittier Regional School Committee, Richard Early and Christopher Kelley, to provide the city with answers about how a contract was approved that allows for an absent principal to continue collecting a paycheck.
"It does not sound right that a principal gets paid for not being a principal," Fiorentini said. "I want to see that contract. This just doesn't sound right to me. I'm skeptical."
Fiorentini, who practiced law for many years before becoming mayor six years ago, said he could not imagine a contract that would allow an administrator to be paid without doing his or her job.
"My suspicion is this is a settlement of some type,'' he said. "If it is, they should say that."
Fiorentini said among the administrators he supervises, none has a deal that would pay someone who's not working. For example, when James Flaherty left his position as superintendent of the Highway Department, his pay stopped, the mayor said. Flaherty was later convicted of using his city position for personal gain.
Brian McNiff, spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin, whose office enforces the Public Records Act, said the law considers every government document to be public, but nevertheless does permit several exemptions.
According to McNiff, if DeRosa refuses The Eagle-Tribune's request to see DePaolo's contract, the newspaper can appeal to Supervisor of Public Records Alan Cote.
DeRosa said that while the Whittier superintendent hires the principal, it is the Regional School Committee that approves the contract between the principal and the district. The Whittier committee has representatives from each of the 11 communities in Greater Haverhill and Newburyport with students at the school.
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