At its meeting Wednesday, Aug. 14, the Berlin Borough Board of Education approved a resolution approving a settlement agreement in ‘Martello v. Berlin Borough Board of Education.’
Kristen Martello was formally the Superintendent of Schools for Berlin Community School, until she was relived of her duties on Thursday, Feb. 21 of this year by a 8-0 vote, after over a year of public pressure for her resignation. The board had previously voted by a 7-2 vote to not renew Martello’s contract at a special meeting on Monday, Feb. 4.
On two separate occasions, a “Vote of No Confidence’ was presented to the board requesting the termination of Martello’s contract during her time with BCS, once from residents and community members in February of 2018 and again by the Berlin Borough Education Association in January of this year.
According to the resolution obtained by The Sun through an OPRA request, “the board and Martello have determined to amicably resolve the lawsuit, having entered into a Confidential Settlement Agreement and General Release.”
The board approved the resolution by a vote of 7-0 at its meeting earlier this month.
The Sun has now received the settlement agreement reached in ‘Martello v. Berlin Borough Board of Education’ through a Supplementary OPRA Request, which states that Martello is to receive a total of $16,548.47 through the lawsuit.
According to the Confidential Settlement Agreement and General Release, Martello is to receive $5,500 in relation to Martello’s claims in the lawsuit and $11,048.47 to reimburse for unused vacation time as well as travel, cell phone and meal reimbursement.
According to her contract, Martello was entitled to all unused vacation time and benefits that went unused upon her separation from employment with the district. According to Dan Long, solicitor for the Berlin Borough Board of Education, no taxpayer dollars were used to settle the claims in the lawsuit.
“The district has liability insurance and no taxpayer dollars were spent to settle the claims in the lawsuit,” said Long.
