Former Wilmington Superintendent Lands New Job in Watertown

WILMINGTON, MA — Ex- Wilmington Public Schools superintendent Mary DeLai has landed a new job in a school administration role just over a month from her October resignation following an OUI arrest in August.

The Watertown Public Schools announced this week that DeLai has taken over as the district's Interim Business Manager role. DeLai had served the Wilmington Public Schools since 2014, and Superintendent Dr. John Brackett lauded her business management experience in numerous public, non-for-profit and private settings.

While not mentioning DeLai's arrest and resignation in his statement specifically, Brackett assured residents that he was confident in DeLai's abilities.

"As with any hire, but especially with a position as critical as chief business official, we conducted a very thorough reference check and fully vetted prior experiences," Brackett wrote in his statement.

The superintendent had recently begun her third school year at the helm of Wilmington Public Schools. She was presented with the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials, Inc. (MASBO) President's Award in June, given to an an individual who has contributed to the growth and improvement of MASBO.

DeLai had made headlines prior to the news of her arrest regarding the handling of domestic violence allegations against WHS physical education teacher Anthony Altieri. Altieri was permitted to return to work one week after he was arrested on domestic assault charges in Essex on Sept. 11.

A petition urging the school committee to take a vote of no confidence against DeLai began accumulating signatures in regards to the superintendent's handling of the situation. Selectman Greg Bendel also expressed his disappointment in the superintendent's failure to communicate with town officials before communicating with the public.

Brackett also lauded DeLai's work with the Reading Public Schools, as well as her work with MASBO.

"I am confident that Mary Delai’s long history of successful school business leadership, skill-set in a myriad of areas of business, finance and operations, and her deep understanding of the interrelatedness of budget and educational programming, will make her a real asset to our leadership team and district," wrote Brackett.

CORRECTION: Previous versions of this story incorrectly indicated that DeLai had been dismissed from her position in Wilmington. DeLai had resigned from her position.

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