EAGLE TIMES STAFF
The SAU 6 school board has removed Superintendent Michael Tempesta.
During the public portion of Thursday’s board meeting, the board made motions to terminate Tempesta and subsequently appoint Stevens High School Principal Chris Pratt as interim superintendent. Only member Marjorie Erickson of Unity voted against both measures, with Shannon Popescu of Unity abstaining.
Pratt has accepted the interim position.
In a prepared statement, SAU 6 School Board Chair Arlene Hawkins said the district is fortunate to have Pratt, a highly qualified administrator with previous experience as a superintendent, to step into the transitional role. Pratt was previously a superintendent at the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union in Vermont.
“The SAU 6 Board wishes Michael Tempesta well and thanks him for his services,” Hawkins wrote. “Please join us in welcoming Christopher Pratt as our interim superintendent.”
Tempesta released a statement, saying he was surprised by the events at Thursday’s meeting and never planned on leaving this way.
“I was looking forward to connecting with all of you over my remaining time in the district and to begin looking for opportunities closer to home so I can spend more time with my family,” he said. “As many of you know, I have a long commute to work each day, well over an hour each way, but that never really mattered to me because of the transformative work we all do for our students each and every day. You all matter a great deal to me. It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as your superintendent for the last five years at SAU 6! You are incredible educators and human beings; I will never forget you, all the students, and the wonderful people of Claremont and Unity.”
The news of Tempesta’s removal quickly circulated on social media and in person. Discussion of the termination mixed with positive reviews of the high school’s production of “Noises Off” as the audience left the Claremont Opera House on Thursday night.
In December 2021, the Claremont and Unity district awarded Tempesta a five-year contract extension with a salary starting at $139,205 for the 2022-2023 school year and increasing by 3 percent each of the following years.
Then-Clearmont School Board Chair Frank Sprague praised Tempesta for leading the district through the pandemic and offered hope that “real progress” would be made once the pandemic was fully behind the district.
Tempesta’s contract also included performance-based conditions based on his annual employee evaluations.
While the board did not discuss Tempesta’s evaluation or the reasons for his removal during the public portion of Thursday’s meeting, Claremont school board chair Heather Whitney confirmed that Tempesta was removed “per paragraph 9 of his contract with the SAU board.”
She declined to comment further, referring questions to Hawkins.
According to Thursday’s agenda, the board met in private as discussing “the dismissal, promotion, or compensation of any public employee” in an open meeting could “adversely affect the reputation of any person, other than a member of this board.”
Tempesta, a former English teacher, was initially hired in 2019 and was previously the executive director of the Central Massachusetts Special Education Collaborative in Worcester, Mass., and served as a superintendent in Saugus, Mass.
— Eagle Times Managing Editor Stephen Cheslik, News Editor Chris Frost, Sports Editor Chris LaClair and correspondents Mary Carter and Sean McCarthy contributed to this report.
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