Berlin Central School District board authorizes legal action related to former superintendent

The Berlin Central School District board on a unanimous recorded voice vote authorized the board president, identified in the adopted resolution as Katie Murray, to work with district counsel to commence legal action concerning alleged conduct by former superintendent Adida Joseph Dehara following his separation from employment.

Board members moved and seconded the resolution during new business. The text adopted instructs the district’s counsel to take the steps necessary to resolve the matter and authorizes counsel to pay any disbursements required to commence the action; those disbursements will be billed to the district for review. The resolution also authorizes the board president to sign and verify any legal papers required to commence the action on the district’s behalf.

The motion was moved by Frank and seconded by Kim. When the chair called votes, the members recorded as voting yes were Elaine, Penny, Derek, Frank, Kim and Ami. No amendment or abstention was recorded in the transcript.

The resolution, as read into the record, said the matter relates to conduct after separation of employment rather than actions taken while the person was employed. The board did not provide additional public detail in the meeting about the underlying facts that prompted the resolution.

Next steps reported in the meeting: district counsel is authorized to take the informal and formal steps required to commence the legal action and to incur necessary costs to do so; the chair noted the authorization will enable counsel and the president to file or sign papers as needed.

The board did not take public comments or provide a substantive board response about the allegations during the meeting.