Burlington Special Education Director Resigns

BURLINGTON, MA -- Burlington School Superintendent Eric Conti released a November 14 letter from Louise D'Amato notifying parents that she had resigned as director of the district's special education program. D'Amato had been on leave since the beginning of October. When he released the note Tuesday afternoon, Conti said the school department would have no further comment on the matter.

"It has been a pleasure to work with you and your children and I wish you all the best," D'Amato said, noting she was leaving after 11 years with Burlington Public Schools to move on to other opportunities. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Conti and the School Committee for their support of children a programming."

The district has named -- but not publicly announced the appointment of -- Robert J. McArdle as acting director. McArdle is the retired director of the Woburn Special Education Program and Walker Partnership and has held similar interim posts in recent years, including an interim director's post in Andover in 2015 and the Merrimack Special Education Collaborative in 2011.

D'Amato's name has been removed from the district's Website shortly after Conti told a group of parents that she was on leave in early October, but she still lists her job status as active on her LinkedIn profile. The profile also shows that she started work as an independent consultant in September.

Among the questions left unanswered by the district are whether or not D'Amato's leave was paid, whether she is receiving severance following her resignation, how much McArdle is being paid to serve as interim director and why there was been no formal search or job posting for the interim position. The department has previously declined to provide a specific reason for D'Amato's leave, saying it is a personnel matter.

The department has also yet to outline the next steps in the process for finding a permanent replacement.

Officials have, however, maintained D'Amato's leave was not related to a state review that was critical of how the program develops educational plans for special needs students and the opportunities offered to students with learning disabilities.

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Patch file photo of Eric Conti.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).