By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The divorce is final.
School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio announced during a Feb. 27 meeting that Kristen Vogel is no longer superintendent of schools. Vogel had been on a medical leave of absence since early December.
“The School Committee and Superintendent Vogel have mutually agreed that the best way to achieve resolution is for them to part ways,” said DePrizio. “For that reason, we have signed an agreement that brings Ms. Vogel’s service as superintendent to a close immediately, and ends her employment by the school district as of June 30, 2024. The remaining two years of Ms. Vogel’s contract have been voided. Ms. Vogel will receive severance in a lump sum of $75,000 by July 1, 2024. Through the remainder of this school year, Ms. Vogel will remain available as a resource for the School Committee to call on as needed, but she will no longer serve as superintendent.
“The agreement reached by the School Committee and Ms. Vogel will allow both parties to move forward,” DePrizio continued. “Additionally, both parties hope that the settlement they have negotiated will make it possible for the entire Lynnfield Public Schools community to move forward for the betterment of all. The School Committee looks forward to returning its complete focus to teaching and learning and the needs of all students.”
Vogel emailed the Villager the following statement about her departure as superintendent.
“The Lynnfield School Committee and I have agreed that my current contract with the district will end on June 30, 2024, upon my retirement,” Vogel wrote. “I will leave my current role as superintendent immediately and serve as a resource to the School Committee for the remainder of the school year. During my tenure, the Leadership Team and I, with the support of the School Committee, have increased the Chapter 70 aid to the district, taken a student-centered approach to decision-making, prioritized inclusion and belonging in the schools, and led the district through the most disruptive period in American education. None of this work would have been successful without the dedication and tireless efforts of the staff of the Lynnfield Public Schools. The efforts of the educators in Lynnfield to go above and beyond for children is amazing. I am proud of the collective work of all in the Lynnfield Public Schools and keeping children the focus of our work. I would like to thank the community for allowing me to be a public servant and steward.”
While municipal officials across the state frequently advocate for increases in Chapter 70 education aid, those appropriations are finalized and are subsequently approved by the State Legislature and governor. Local officials do not determine those appropriations.
Vogel led the school system for three-and-a-half years after succeeding retired Superintendent Jane Tremblay in July 2020 during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous incarnation of the School Committee unanimously approved a raise and contract extension for the former Tewksbury Memorial High School principal last September.
After the raise and contract extension were approved, the Lynnfield Teachers Association (LTA) began expressing concerns about the state of the district in a letter sent to Vogel and the School Committee last October. The teachers’ union also approved a resolution last December that declared the school system in “crisis.” The LTA also declared it had “no confidence in the current leadership to address the crisis.”
“A top-down management model, diminished educator autonomy, reductions in staff resources and changes in school culture and climate have led to the lowest educator morale in living memory,” LTA Vice President Nicole Hawes, who is a Lynnfield High School math teacher, stated while reading the beginning of the resolution during the School Committee’s meeting in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium last December.
LTA President Alex Cellucci sent the Villager a statement about Vogel’s departure.
“The LTA hopes former Superintendent Vogel is in good health and finds a good match for any future endeavor she pursues,” stated Cellucci. “We feel we have an opportunity at this time to shape our district’s culture in a positive way with input and collaboration from our educators.”
A number of parents have also criticized Vogel during School Committee meetings over the course of her three-and-a-half year tenure.