School Committee to Vote on Superintendent's New Contract

During a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the 1981-82 school budget, the Cambridge School Committee went into executive session with Superintendent William C. Lannon to discuss the details of his contract, which is up for renewal this spring.

Two committee members--Joseph E. Maynard and Donald A. Fantini--voted against closing the session to the public and did not attend the meeting.

Fantini said yesterday that he believes the session was illegal and that the discussions were a matter for public record. "The whole thing was a charade," he said.

Beforehand

Fantini said Lannon handed committee members copies of the contract he wanted before the session began. He added that "one does not bargain collectively with the superintendent, especially when he tells you what he wants before hand."

Lannon and Cambridge Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55 said yesterday that they and the other committee members at the session discussed a multi-year contract and other fringe benefits, but they refused to specify the terms of the contract, Fantini, however, said that the terms Lannon listed in the document included a four-year contract, a "substantial salary increase," and certain insurance benefits.

Stability

Lannon said that he would not have minded having the discussions carried on in public and that the "basic issue" was a multi-year contract. "The city needs stability," he said.

Calling the session "positive," Duehay said that he "did not think it proper" to divulge all the details of the contract until they had been agreed upon. He added that the matter would probably be introduced as a motion at next Tuesday's school committee meeting but that it might not be acted upon until a later meeting.

If a new contract is not negotiated by April 15, Lannon's contract will automatically be renewed for a year, Fantini said.