SAUGUS Vol. 27, No.8 Your Local News & Sports Online! Scan & Subscribe Here! C TE D O AT CAT -FREE- www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday 781-233-4446 Friday, February 21, 2025 EAGLE EYES AT STOCKER PLAYGROUND A Wrongful Firing An arbitrator rules Saugus School Committee fi red Ex-Supt. McMahon without proper cause; awards her substantial lost wages and benefi ts to make her whole By Mark E. Vogler E x-Saugus School Superintendent Erin McMahon only got about halfway through the second year of an unprecedented fi ve-year, million-dollar contract before going on paid administrative leave in early January of 2023 as she was being investigated for alleged misconduct, which led to her fi ring 10 months later. But McMahon, who maintained from the outset that the School Committee violated her contract and later fi red her unfairly based on a fl awed report, has convinced an arbitrator that the committee failed to justify her termination. “On the merits, the School How will this bald eagle – perched on a branch overlooking the basketball court at Stocker Playground earlier this month – and other wildlife be aff ected by a proposed dog park? Please see inside for more photos, a story about the Conservation Commission review of the project and letters to the editor. (Courtesy photo of Shannon Monks) Committee did not establish that there was good cause for the termination,” arbitrator Sherrie Rose Talmadge wrote in a recent 30-page report that awarded McMahon “all lost wages and benefi ts” from the date of her Nov. 2, 2023, termination to the end of her employment agreement, which would have expired on June 30, 2026. Megan C. Deluhery, of the Boston law fi rm of Todd & Weld LLP, welcomed the American Arbitration Association Labor Arbitration Decision And Award as a vindication of her client, who was the fi rst woman school superintendent hired by the Town of Saugus. “Dr. McMahon is gratifi ed by the outcome which confi rms there was insuffi cient evidence to support termination of her employment for the reasons set out in the investigation report,” Deluhery told The Saugus Advocate. “The parties have yet to confer on the calculation of the award, but with 2.5 years remaining in her contract which requires payment of her annual salary of just under $200,000 plus benefi ts less post-termination earnings, we anticipate the dollar value will be substantial,” she said. No comment from Saugus School Committee Saugus School Committee Chair Vincent Serino issued a comment on behalf of the entire School Committee that essentially declined to rebut the FIRING | SEE PAGE 2 MARCHETTI CORP. 46 Years of Excellence!! 1978-2024 Regular Unleaded $2.839 MidUnleaded $3.379 Super $3.479 Diesel Fuel $3.539 Kerosene Available! HEATING O L IL ULS $4.759 $3.39 9 DEF Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! 24-Hour Burner Service Open an account and order online at: Hours: Monday thru Friday 6 AM to 7 PM / Saturdays 7 AM to 5 PM / Sundays 9 AM to 5 PM FLEET Prices subject to change
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