Agreement Reached to End O'Donnell's Employment With Manchester School System

According to information released late Monday afternoon by the Manchester Public Schools administrators union and the chairman of the Board of Education, an agreement has been reached with former Manchester High School Principal Kevin O’Donnell that would end his employment with the school system and resolve a grievance over what he termed an “involuntary transfer” earlier this year.

In a statement released Monday by Manchester School Administrators Association President Mike Saimond, the board of education and the administration of the town’s public school system “wish Mr. O’Donnell well in all of his future endeavors” and declare that O’Donnell “was not in any way responsible” for hallways Dec. 16 that led to almost 20 arrests at the school. The agreement was reached through a mediator, Saimond said.

“The board and the administration thank Mr. O’Donnell for his service to the Manchester Public Schools,” the agreement read. “Mr. O’Donnell has demonstrated a strong commitment to the success of Manchester Public Schools, and he has made a number of important contributions to the improvement of our school district.”

Although neither Saimond nor Board of Education Chairman Chris Pattacini would comment on the agreement, citing its sensitivity as a personnel matter, both indicated that the agreement brought a sense of finality to O’Donnell’s tenure with the school system.

“It’s a fair resolution for both sides,” said Saimond, who also serves as principal of Verplanck Elementary School.

When asked, Pattacini said the agreement would result in the end of O’Donnell’s employment with the school system, but declined to comment further, referring additional questions to the agreement itself late Monday.

“The agreement speaks for itself,” Pattacini said. “It was in the best interest of the district.”

When asked, Saimond said that the agreement would see O’Donnell paid by the school system through the end of the current school year.

An attempt to gain access to a copy of the agreement late Monday afternoon from administrators was met with the reply that Pattacini was the only one who could speak about the agreement; later Monday evening, Pattacini told Patch that the agreement could only be accessed through a Freedom of Information Act request.

O’Donnell was placed on indefinite paid leave Jan. 7 by former Superintendent Kathleen Ouellette after, although Ouellette never publicly specified the reason for O’Donnell’s suspension.

After , a position that he still holds, Ouellette then transferred O’Donnell to the position of supervisor of pupil personnel services April 26.

Although the new position was still considered an administrative position under the Manchester School Administration Association’s contract with the district, it came with a significant drop in pay for O’Donnell; the 11-month position carried an annual salary of $112,360, compared to the $138,778 annual salary O’Donnell would have earned at Manchester High School under the same timeframe.

Calling it an “involuntary transfer,” O’Donnell grieved the reassignment in an April 26 letter to Ouellette, citing the “Just Cause” provision of the Manchester School Administrators Association’s contract. Saimond said the agreement the school board reached with O’Donnell, dated Oct. 13, resolved that grievance.

“Everybody’s happy and everybody’s unhappy,” Saimond said. “The mediator did a good job.”

Although he said he did not wish to speculate for O’Donnell, Saimond said that he believed the statement absolving O’Donnell of any blame for last December’s brawl at the high school played a significant role in the two sides reaching the agreement.

“From Kevin’s point of view, it was important to get this,” he said.

Prior to his suspension, O’Donnell served as principal of the high school since August of 2007.