Medford Superintendent To Retire Early

MEDFORD, MA – Medford Superintendent of Schools Roy Belson announced Tuesday he would retire early in the wake of the McGlynn gun magazine incident. Belson, who was originally set to retire in June after 23 years, will exit April 30.

According to the Boston Globe, the school committee accepted his early retirement in a 5-2 vote. The agreement stipulates that any district decisions made until then must pass through the school committee, the Globe reported.

Belson has said he was wrong not to report the magazine to the mayor and police chief after it was discovered Dec. 29. He told the crowd at Thursday's school committee meeting his mistake "will never happen again as long as I'm in this role."

McGlynn Principal Jake Edwards was placed on paid administrative leave last Thursday pending the outcome of an investigation into why the Dec. 29 discovery was first reported to Medford Mayor Stephanie M. Burke and Police Chief Leo Sacco on Friday, Feb. 16.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, now a partner at the law firm Foley Hoag, is also leading an investigation into the matter that will run independent from the school district's.

In a statement last week, Belson said a cleaning company found the magazine under a seat in the school theater. It was turned over to the school custodian, who locked it in the principal's office.

The following day Edwards said he cleaned his office and threw several items away that could have held the magazine, according to Belson. The school resource officer and Belson were directly notified, but Sacco was not.

Burke said Tuesday Belson has "always been a stalwart in anything that has been good about our system," according to the Globe.

Image via Medford Public Schools