Former Essex Tech Super Received Unauthorized Payments; Violated State Laws: Report

Danvers, MA - The former superintendent of the Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District received payments not authorized by the School Committee and violated the state’s conflict of interest and procurement laws, according to a report authorized by the Essex Tech School Committee.

Earlier this year, the School Committee sent a demand letter to former Superintendent Daniel O’Connell for the $88,902 plus gas payments that it claims O’Connell was overpaid as a result of the various allegations against him.

O’Connell retired in the fall. He was hired in 2013 to head up the new Essex Tech, which is on the site of the former Essex Aggie school and combines several former vocational and technical school districts.

In June of last year, the Essex School Committee hired the firm of Brody, Hardoon, Perkins and Keskin, LLP to conduct an investigation into the allegations against O’Connell. The firm sent a report to the School Committee earlier this month.

The report states that “it is clear that the superintendent received financial benefits over the past several years that were not authorized by the School Committee.”

Those payments revolved around vacation buyback, a stipend that was extended without School Committee approval, and travel stipends and gas card use.

The ethics violations revolve around “what appears to be a longstanding practice of allowing employees to use District-owned equipment for personal use,” the report states.

O’Connell noted that a policy of allowing employees to sign out school equipment for personal use existed at the North Shore Regional Vocational School District while he was principal there and continued when North Shore merged with Essex Tech.

However, the report states that O’Connell should have know that that policy violates the Commonwealth’s conflict of interest law.

The report also states that O’Connell said he directed an immediate family member employed by the district to take a load of bricks to his New Hampshire home. According to O’Connell, the contractor offered him the bricks when the school project was finished.

The report goes on to state that O’Connell granted special privileges to an immediate family member employed by the district by allowing the family member to use a school truck to sell popcorn.

The report also states that multiple employees stated that they worked for O’Connell at his request at his home or at his wife’s business.

“Based upon our investigation, we conclude that Mr. O’Connell received payments which were not authorized by the School Committee,” the report concludes. “In addition, as Superintendent, he breached his public responsibility by violating the State’s conflict of interest and state procurement laws. These breaches are serious and in our judgment represent gross misconduct of a public employee and a violation of the public trust.”

A lawyer representing O’Connell said his client does not owe the school district any money, according to the Boston Globe.

“We believe that any payments he received were all properly authorized,” Gabriel O. Dumont Jr. told the paper.

Essex Tech’s district includes Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Swampscott, Topsfield, and Wenham.