Marblehead school superintendent, Veterans principal fined by state Ethics Commission

MARBLEHEAD – Former Marblehead School Superintendent G. Paul Dulac and Veterans School Principal Elizabeth Moore are being cited by the state Ethics Commission for conflict of interest law violations. A spouse of a school committee member was hired to a half-time teaching position without following standard procedures, according to the press release from the commission.They violated G.L. C 268A, the conflict of interest law, by hiring the spouse of a school committee member to a half-time teaching position without following standard procedures. Dulac and Moore each have to pay $500 as a civil penalty, according to the press release.There was a vacant half-time position for a instructional technology specialist at the Veterans Middle School to be filled for the school year beginning in 2009. The standard procedure for a new hire is to post the job opportunity, have the principal interview candidates then forward recommendations to the superintendent. The superintendent then interviews the candidates and makes a hire.However, this is not what happened when Tammy Nohelty, wife of School Committeeman Richard Nohelty, was hired. Ms. Nohelty found out about the vacant position via her husband and expressed interest in it before the job listing was posted, according to the press release.Ms. Nohelty was interviewed by Moore and recommended to Dulac three days before the position was advertised to the public. Days after the recommendation was made, it was posted in The Boston Globe and internally within the school department. Three applicants responded to the postings and none of them were interviewed. However, Dulac and Moore state that they were not aware there were any other candidates for the job, according to the press release.”You have to keep your responsibilities for your job and your private interests separate,” said Communications Division Chief of the Ethics Commission David Giannotti. “If you don’t, it hosts a bed of issues.”Additionally, Dulac caused the date of Moore’s recommendation to be changed from Aug. 13, 2009, a date before the posting, to Aug. 23, 2009, a date after the position was posted. Ms. Nohelty was then hired, according to the press release.