Fired procurement officer sues Quabbin school officials, alleging age, gender bias

Fired procurement officer sues Quabbin school officials, alleging age, gender bias
By James F. Russell CORRESPONDENT

BARRE — A $1.9 million discrimination lawsuit filed against the Quabbin Regional School District superintendent, school committee and finance chief by a recently terminated administrator, includes accusations against the five-town district.

One allegation is that Superintendent Maureen M. Marshall sought to disregard procurement regulations "to give business to her friends."

Despite acrimony between some town officials and the district over budget deliberations in recent years, Mrs. Marshall, and Director of Administrative Services Cheryl A. Duval, another defendant, have been commended for strict adherence to financial regulations and protocols.

William A. Burnett of Barre filed suit in Worcester Superior Court last month.

At the request of Quabbin officials, the case was transferred to federal court on Oct. 7, but Mr. Burnett's attorney plans to file a motion seeking to remand the case to state court.

"This is an action for Breach of Contract; Wrongful Termination; Harassment; Hostile Work Environment; Age Discrimination; and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress," according to the complaint filed by Worcester attorney Howard J. Potash, representing Mr. Burnett.

Records show that Mr. Burnett, a Quabbin employee for more than two decades who was the district's chief procurement officer and the payroll and transportation coordinator, was fired by Mrs. Marshall over the summer.

The suit alleges that Mr. Burnett's duties as chief procurement officer precluded Mrs. Marshall the authority to fire him, and that he was entitled to a hearing to adjudicate the matter, but none took place.

"Only the School Board can terminate a Chief Procurement Officer by vote. No such vote took place," the complaint said. "The Quabbin Regional School Board has failed to intervene in this matter after oral and written notice. The Board has abdicated their responsibility."

Contacted Tuesday, Mr. Potash said his client requested a hearing but the school board chairman, Mark Brophy, denied that petition, in writing, in August.

"Mr. Brophy wrote back to say the school board was not inclined to give him a hearing. They refused to give him a hearing," Mr. Potash told the Telegram & Gazette.

"It is not our role to be commenting on this, because it is a personnel matter that needs to be deferred to the superintendent," Mr. Brophy told a reporter.

"We [the committee] do not have a role in having a hearing," he said. He declined to comment on the substance of the allegations.

In a telephone interview, Quabbin school board vice chairman Lee Wolanin said he has not been provided a copy of the lawsuit, had not read it and questioned why the 14 committee members are being sued.

"I was surprised the school committee was named as a group — I don't understand why," Mr. Wolanin said. "The school committee is responsible for the superintendent, assistant superintendent, special education director and nursing staff hirings. The school committee is not involved in any of that, in terms of Burnett as administrative staff." He declined to comment on the Burnett accusations.

The lawsuit also alleges, "As Chief Procurment Officer, Burnett was placed in conflict with Marshall and Duval to ensure all spending was lawful, sent out to bid and included in the budget. Marshall sought to avoid procurement rules and spend money without bid and to give business to her friends to the detriment of the school and townspeople."

The district's lawyer is David S. Monastersky of Hartford. In court documents, the lawyer said the defendants denied the allegations. A call placed to the lawyer was not returned.

In the civil complaint, it is alleged that "Marshall and Duval have spread lies about his (Mr. Burnett's) abilities to employees in an effort to justify their actions and have vilified him in the minds of other employees ... and singled him out for ridicule whenever possible." A message left for Mrs. Marshall and Ms. Duval seeking comment was not returned on Tuesday.

The suit alleges that the women, under guise of operational change, "had decided to replace him prior to 2013. The reorganization was a charade ... Marshall and Duval conspired to produce fraudulent evaluations on June 26, 2014, criticizing Burnett's work product ... and replace him with friends of Marshall and Duval."

According to the lawsuit, "Marshall had treated Burnett with hostility for years ... Marshall admitted she did not like him," and had "discriminated against Burnett as she terminated him at age 62 and hired younger individuals. Marshall also discriminated against Burnett by hiring only women."

The lawsuit seeks redress for gender discrimination, claiming that "Burnett avers a pattern of conduct of the Quabbin Regional School district by Marshall to replace males with females, constituting an invidious discrimination."

The lawsuit against the two Quabbin administrators and 14 school committee members seeks $1 million for Mr. Burnett from the district related to the hostile work environment, harassment, wrongful discharge and emotional harm claims, as well as $410,000 for lost wages, $50,000 in lost benefits, and $500,000 owing to reduction in pension. It also requests Burnett's reinstatement. The lawsuit says Mr. Burnett hopes to work until age 67 to be eligible for a pension at 70 percent of his annual salary.

Annual audits of the district's books have shown a clean bill of fiscal health.

During a school board meeting in June attended by state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Deputy Commissioner Jeff Wulfson, the state official praised the Quabbin district's skill at providing above-average value while spending less than half of the state average. A 20-year veteran at the DESE, Mr. Wulfson previously directed the local services division at the Department of Revenue.

Barre, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Braintree and Oakham make up the Quabbin regional school district.