School committee approves chief financial officer contract after late amendments

The Haverhill School Committee voted to approve a three-year contract for a new chief financial officer, Clancy Maine, after members amended compensation language and clarified travel and licensure terms.

The committee approved the contract, as amended, by recorded roll call with Attorney Magliacchetti moving and Miss Sullivan seconding; Doctor Story voted no and other members voted yes. The contract term ends June 30, 2028, unless otherwise agreed.

Committee members and staff spent more than an hour discussing how the contract presented annual pay rates and how those figures should be prorated for the initial hiring period. Committee members objected that the document called the figures "annual base rate" while some bullets represented amounts for a limited initial period. Attorney Rosa proposed, and the committee adopted, an amendment to remove the phrase "annual base rate" from the compensation paragraph and to change two line items: the bullet shown as $145,000 was changed to $72,500 and the bullet shown as $150,000 was changed to $75,000. That amendment passed by roll call vote prior to the final contract vote.

The contract also includes a travel stipend and dues provision (section 9). Committee members amended that paragraph to specify the stipend begins July 1, 2025, and that the in-district travel allowance will increase in years two and three to $2,160 annually. The committee discussed that the first-year stipend would be modest because the new CFO is expected to spend more time in the office during initial onboarding; staff said the new hire could submit reimbursement for any travel before July 1 if needed. The amendment inserting the July 1, 2025 start date and clarifying years two and three passed by roll call.

Section 7 of the contract requires the CFO to obtain licensure from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a school business administrator within one year of hire; the contract offers a one-time $3,000 stipend upon receipt of that certification. Committee members noted the licensure pathway typically involves a 300-hour work-based component through MASBO (Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials).

Superintendent's office staff said the committee had recruited widely after an extended search and that Clancy Maine, who has served as town manager in Billerica, brings public-sector finance and accounting experience. The superintendent indicated Maine would likely begin in mid-May and paperwork could reflect a May 19 start for onboarding, but the committee clarified compensation and stipends should be administered on the July 1 fiscal-year cycle per the amended contract language.

The committee debated whether to table the contract to reword the compensation language; a motion to table failed. After adopting the amendments the committee approved the contract. The roll call on final approval recorded Doctor Story as the sole no vote; other members present voted yes.

The committee also discussed termination and successor-contract language: the contract as written terminates on 06/30/2028 unless a successor agreement is negotiated.

The committee’s discussion centered on numerical clarity in the contract language, start dates, the practicalities of the licensure pathway and modest first-year travel reimbursements; members emphasized wanting the mathematics and wording to be correct while also avoiding losing the candidate to other opportunities.

Clancy Maine is expected to join Haverhill Public Schools pending completion of hiring paperwork and the executed contract.

The committee did not return to the topic publicly beyond the vote.