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Return volley: Beloved former Minuteman High School principal fires back in lawsuit against old employer and boss, saying he was wrongfully terminated
That would be George Clement, the popular former principal of the regional vocational and tech school in Lexington whose dismissal sparked outrage.
Minuteman’s decision in 2023 not to renew Clement’s contract sparked protests from parents, an online petition, and a student walkout, Boston.com reported at the time.
Clement got his start at Minuteman in 2009 as a reading specialist and rose through the administrative ranks to become the school’s principal. MCAS scores rose at the school in the wake of the pandemic under Clement’s watch, and Minuteman won a literacy and reading award as well.
Now Clement has filed a lawsuit in state court against both Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School and the school’s former superintendent.
The former Minuteman principal alleges “wrongful and retaliatory termination” and is seeking lost wages, benefits, attorneys’ fees and damages, according to the complaint, which was reviewed by Contrarian Boston.
Clement contends he was given his walking papers after running afoul of the regional school district’s controversial superintendent, Kathleen Dawson, who was later ousted herself amid a faculty rebellion and pushback from parents and students.
In particular, Clement said he was handed the unenviable task of leading an investigation into allegations of unwanted touching of students by then-superintendent Dawson, during her oversight that included the towns of Lexington, Concord, Needham, Dover and Arlington.
Further complicating matters, Clement was emmeshed in talks with Dawson, who was his boss, over his own contract, which had come up for renewal.
While there was no indication of any sexual intent, the Minuteman superintendent’s touchy-feely and arguably too-hands-on approach drew complaints.
Dawson had allegedly “walked by and inappropriately squeezed and patted the chest of a student (who suffers from a disability),” Clements notes in his lawsuit, in which he details the allegations.
An appearance later by Dawson at a school dance triggered further complaints that the superintendent had hugged students engaged in “unwanted physical contact” and “other inappropriate behavior,” Clement’s lawsuit alleges.
That was followed by another complaint about Dawson rubbing a student’s shoulders without their permission.
In response, the superintendent turned on Clement and began taking him to task on various issues over the course of the school year and undercutting his decisions, his lawsuit contends. Dawson’s efforts culminated in her decision in April 2023 not to renew his contract, the former Minuteman principal alleges.
Dawson herself was placed on administrative leave a month later in May, 2023 and wound up resigning in September, 2023.
In a statement last September explaining her decision, Dawson noted that the Minuteman’s school board had hired a lawyer to investigate the allegations and “found no evidence that the complaints constituted sexual harassment.”
“None of the complainants alleged that any touchings were sexual in nature,” Dawson stated.
In turn, she attributed the complaints to “unpopular decisions” she made as superintendent.
Waiting game: Developers with stalled plans for tens of thousands of new housing units are seeking State House help as the clock ticks
Dozens of apartment and condo projects, from Boston to the suburbs, have been stuck in limbo over the past two years, victims of rate hikes and high construction costs.
And many of these projects face a double whammy, with hard-won local and state permits, some of which took months or even years to obtain, now set to expire as well.
Now, to add insult to injury, a state proposal that would extend most permits for another two years for housing and other projects has become mired in legislative limbo at the State House.
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