PEABODY — The School Committee granted Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala a four-year contract extension Tuesday night, extending his tenure through June 30, 2031, with a vote of 4-2.
The Committee’s veterans — Joe Amico, Brandi Carpenter, Beverley Griffin Dunne, and John Olimpio — voted in favor of this extension, while newcomers Dr. Suzanne Cox and Pamela Milman voted against it.
Both Cox and Milman emphasized that they were not voting against Vadala as a person or as a superintendent, but they were voting against the procedural process at hand. The two stated that they would have preferred that his evaluation be completed before voting on his contract extension.
“I’m not saying that I disagree with having Dr. Vadala continue,” Cox said. “I think he has done a great job. I fully remain supportive of him continuing to work with us… but I do and would like to consider… going through the evaluation process prior to committing my vote.”
She stressed, “I will continue to support him as our leader. It is strictly a protocol process thing that I am kind of hung up on here… What’s the point of an evaluation if there’s nothing that comes from it?”
Mayor Ted Bettencourt provided some background on superintendent evaluations, noting that the School Committee has the right to evaluate the superintendent on a yearly basis, but it typically performs these evaluations every two years. Additionally, the Committee does not currently have any bylaws stating that the contract extension must be based on the evaluations.
Bettencourt added that Vadala was evaluated in 2021 and 2023, making this year’s evaluation his third since he was hired in 2020.
“Dr. Vadala gets evaluated every day, every meeting, public participation, my phone, our phones, the positive, the negative. He hears from us, and he’s always been responsive to constructive criticism,” Olimpio said.
He added, “The evaluation process is not going to sway my vote one way or the other. It’s important that we have it documented and recorded because you never know what could happen in the future — good, bad, or anything. We certainly need that evaluation. But at this point in time… I’ve seen everything I need to see.”
Carpenter agreed with Olimpio, adding that she feels Vadala and the Peabody Public Schools community deserve “stability.”
Amico agreed with both Olimpio and Carpenter. To Carpenter’s point, Amico stated that it is important to have Vadala continue in his role, as “consistency is the most important thing” — especially in the middle of the Peabody Veterans Memorial High School building renovation project.
“I know what I have in front of me,” Amico said. “We could have Tom Brady in that seat, and there would be some people who would call for his or her head.”
With his contract extension accepted, Vadala thanked the Committee.
“This is where I want to be, and I’m happy here, and I love this team that I’m working with,” he said. “I really appreciate and respect every member of this committee individually. I understand why everybody voted the way that they did. I understand that. I value your perspective, and I think everybody’s perspective is so important.”
He continued, “We have a lot of work moving forward. I’m here to embrace it, and I’m here to be collaborative. And I know that each member of the committee is as well, and I value that, and I’m excited to continue this work.”
