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Chang To Get $300,000 In Severance After Quiet Negotiations With School Committee

Tommy Chang speaks with the headmaster of Boston International High School in 2015. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Tommy Chang speaks with the headmaster of Boston International High School in 2015. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Former Boston Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang is getting almost $300,000 in a severance deal quietly agreed to by the city's School Committee.

Chang left his post last month after he and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh mutually agreed to part ways.

Chang and the School Committee negotiated a deal in which Chang will be paid one year's salary — $267,383 — plus unused vacation and personal days. Commonwealth Magazine first reported on the settlement agreement.

Now, there is some question as to whether the School Committee violated the state's open meeting law by not voting on the settlement agreement in open session.

The law does allow public bodies such as school committees to meet behind closed doors in order to discuss contract negotiation or negotiation strategies with nonunion personnel. However — according to the attorney general's office, which is tasked with enforcing the open meeting laws — "[t]he final vote to execute a non-union personnel agreement must occur in open session."

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly suggested that the school committee did not publicly reveal the settlement agreement. The agreement was not approved in an open meeting. We regret the error.

This article was originally published on July 19, 2018.

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