SAUGUS — Saugus’ school committee board voted 3-1 Thursday evening to extend Superintendent David DeRuosi’s contract through June of 2021.
He is the district’s fifth superintendent since 2012.
The vote came after nearly 45 minutes of heated discussion among the school board members, with the exception of Chair Thomas Whittredge, who recused himself from all proceedings related to Dr. DeRuosi’s contract because of his sister’s position under the superintendent as Director of Pupil Personnel.
Board member Arthur Grabowski was the only member not in favor of the motion to extend DeRuosi’s contract and requested the board have a public discussion before taking a final vote.
He noted a lack of noticeable improvements in the district’s many problems, particularly a continued lack of morale, as his main reason for rejecting an extension of DeRuosi’s contract.
“Improvement in leadership is not there over the last three years,” he said of DeRuosi, whom the district hired in 2016.
Board member Ryan Fisher also noted a lack of morale and tangible frustration from the district’s parents as he argued in favor of extending the contract to allow DeRuosi time to implement changes he had promised.
“There are a lot of people watching this (on TV), there are a lot of people sitting in this room right now, who don’t have hope … and they’re angry. And I understand why they’re angry. What matters to me is that we get this right,” he said.
At one point, Fisher asked to hear from the superintendent himself.
“What I need to hear from you,” he said, “is that you understand this is where people are coming from. It’s not about you, it’s about this lack of hope and confusion they feel that this isn’t getting better.”
In his answer, DeRuosi addressed the “clean sweep” many town residents spoke about during the last school committee elections, when the previous board was voted out and completely overturned, largely due to outrage over the firing of the school district’s custodians.
“If the decision is not to extend me, I can accept that. If the decision is to extend me for one year and become a silent barrier to progress, then you’re not helping,” he told the board.
“If you’re looking at me as a committee and you really want that sweeping change that you asked for, that’s your call … I only say this: my work ethic is my work ethic. I’ve done whatever these committees have asked me to do, and if I don’t make people happy, I’m sorry. But sometimes I can’t, because it jeopardizes the bigger plan, because it hurts kids.
DeRuosi finished his statement with a final plea for the committee to make a decision either way, suggesting that the move to extend his contract only one year was simply a measure to prevent the district from descending into chaos when it makes the move to its new combined middle-high school next year.
“I don’t believe in fighting over everything,” he said. “But you’ve got to do something. You really need to do something. Because the work will not get done. If I am the final, sweeping change this committee was elected on, then so be it.”
After the motion to extend DeRuosi’s contract was finalized, Fisher told DeRuosi in front of the board:
“Whatever happens over the next 22 months, this board is going to handle. We are not the board who was here before,” he said. “I voted the way I did because, after talking to you for five minutes, I’m not prepared to give you five years. This is important to me, and I want us all to work together.”
DeRuosi agreed.
“We’ll work together and see what happens,” he said.
