April 2 2014 - Bouris Coughlin Levenson fiasco cost $1.4M (at the least) - http://www.yourarlington.com/finances/6523-costs-32614.html - you have to give Bob Sprague some credit for running this article - although, if he says the cost is $1.4m then in my mind the cost is probably closer to $2M or $3M (considering the Bob Sprague used to be the Town Public Info Officer / Webmaster - and considering that he was actively involved in the fiasco)
Breaking News - Dec 10 2013 - Settlement Reached - http://arlington.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/settlement-reached-in-coughlinbouris-case
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1. Please see the first attachment at the bottom of this page (the civil rights lawsuit) for a good overview of the situation
2. Dont miss the 3 SubPages hiding way way way down this page
3. And there are a bunch of comments with info also (way down at the bottom of this web page - below the SubPages even - way way way dwon - swing low etc)
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Outline of the Bouris / Coughlin / Levenson situation
1. There was a photo of Coughlin on Bob Sprague's website. Included in the photo was Bouris's husband wearing a surgical mask. This was a public meeting held in support of Bouris.
This photo jumped out at me. Who took the photo? Why was it published? -
[Sept 2010 - http://www.yourarlington.com/content/view/440/110/ - voila - here it is - the missing photo] [Dec 2013 - page is gone] [April 2, 2014 - page is at the Internet Archive but I
cannot see the Coughlin photograph - http://web.archive.org/web/20100913051941/http://www.yourarlington.com/content/view/440/110 - is the photo of Bouris husbnad there? - I dont know
- forgot to check]
[Sept 12ish 2010 - I asked questions about this photo on the Arlington E-Mail list - got few answers]
[12 Jan 2011 - I also asked Bob Sprague on the Arlington FSZ list why he took this picture - I did not get an answer]
1 A. Addendum. March 2007 was the date of this School Committee meeting - see the minutes below (added Dec 18, 2009)
1 B. April 2007 - Bouris gets 2 year contract (1 B added Dec 18, 2009)
2. Questions raised publicly about Levenson's credentials. (Assistant Superintendent in Harvard Mass or Assistant To The Superintendent in Harvard Mass - ???)
2 A. Joe Tully questions Superintendent's selection scoring process on the A-List. I never really understood Tully's post, but his contention was that the process was a sham IIRC.
3. Investigation of Coughlin and Bouris was begun by a School Dept computer tech based on an anonymous note.
3 A. (The note was placed anonymously under Buck's office door approximately 3 weeks before June 6, 2007. The note said that there was evidence of an inappropriate
relationship between Bouris and Coughlin in their Emails - per Coughlin arb decision - '3 A' added Dec 18, 2009).
(3 B. Approximately 2 weeks before June 6, 2007, Joanne Rohman told Buck that custodians had told her that something was up between Coughlin and Bouris.
Additionally, Buck overheard 3 Ottoson Middle School employees in a Ottoson hallway discussing bowling alley conduct between Bouris and Coughlin.
Per Coughlin arbitration report - '3B' added Dec 18, 2009)
(3 C - I think that Betsy S said on the A-List that only the headers of Emails should have been investigated - ???)
(3 D - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/opinions/x1376439977 - Aug 2007 - Letter to Advocate from Thomas E Tierney clearly shows that Email search was illegal
("3 D" added Jan 6 2010)
4. Anonymous note was not retained by the School Dept computer technician.
4 A. 50 pages of Emails given to Levenson by Buck on June 6, 2007. Maybe in a manila folder, maybe not. (Per Coughlin arbitration decision). ("4 A" Added Dec 18, 2009) [ 8 Sept 2010
- I cant believe I forgot to mention this - the Emails had no headers IIRC]
5. No action was taken after first batch of Emails were delivered to Levenson. This first batch of Emails might have contained a password to Bouris's Gmail account.
6. Four days later, (June 11, 2007 per Coughlin arbitration decision) when additional Emails were anonymously left in Levenson's office, apparently over a weekend, Levenson started
making phone calls about the situation.
7. The additional Emails contained material from private Email accounts.
8.. No burglar alarm activated when material was left anonymously in Superintendent's office - apparently there was no trace of the intruder.
9. It is possible (now confirmed 11/09) that the first batch of Emails contained a password (or passwords) that allowed access to the private Email accounts.
10. Joe Tully raised questions (on the A-List) about the School Dept's attorneys running the investigation. IIRC "conflict of interest" was the major concern.
10 A - (Please see the Sept 2007 item in the Advocate listed below - "10 A" added 12/21/09) [Jeez - I wonder what I am talking about here - :-) - 12 Jan 2011]
10 B. Coughlin fired Aug 9, 2007 ("10B" added Dec 18, 2009)
11. The "lurid" Emails are "leaked" to the public.
12. Joe Tully gets bill for $194,000 pursuant to Public Records Law request.
12 A - Please see the Oct 30, 2009 post by Tully to A-List - ("12 A" added 12/21/09))
13. August 2008 - Levenson quits abruptly without reason.
14. Computer Tech Buck reportedly gets a nice raise. (Possibly 2 stipends as mentioned at 11/16/09 BOS meeting)
14 A - Joe Tully posts on A-List about uncovering campaign type messages being sent out via School Dept computer - this was posted to the AList on Oct 30, 2009
- Judi Bohn is mentioned prominently - ("14 A" added Dec 18, 2009)
15. There apparently is no video showing Bouris and Coughlin doing anything together.
16. If there had been proven improper activity between Bouris and Coughlin, I suspect it could have been dealt with quietly.
17. Didn't the Number 1 and Number 2 people in the School IT Dept leave? One went to Belmont IIRC.
18. There have been no reports of any other School Dept employees using computers in an improper manner. What are the odds? (Former Town Manager Phillip Harrington took early retirement
in ?2002ish after certain material was found on his computer during maintenance IIRC - 11/19/09)
19. Spring 2009 - at Town Meeting - controversy over audit report - School Dept CFO (Mozarella) leaves her position approx 2 months later
20. Feb 2010 - $7 million civil rights lawsuit filed - please see the attachment below [where does $7M come from - I did not see $7M mentioned in the document
- maybe I missed it - Feb 21 2010]
21. Judge throws out arbitration decision after appeal by Town
22. Lawyer requests delay of civil rights lawsuit until 2nd round of arbitration
23. April 4, 2010 - Bob Sprague publishes 2008 letter from Miller regarding Levenson (?) misstatements (?) (see Attachment section below)
24. May 2010 ish - Supreme Court ruling that judges cannot overrule arbitrators
25. May 17 2010 - Joe Tully asked about the litigation at Town Meeting - Town Counsel Rice said that there is no insurance policy to protect the Town
- the School Dept does have a policy with a $1 million limit (defense and judgement) - unknown how much has been spent so far - if a judgement requires additional funds, they
will have to come from available appropriated funds - Tosti from FinCom says that short term money can be borrowed over 2 years to hopefully soften the impact
26. May 27, 2010 - Someone posted somewhere that the stay was denied on the lawsuits so they will be moving forward before the new arbitration for Coughlin is finished
27. May 27, 2010 - What is the connection between Bodie"s husband and Kay Hodge (the lawyer at Palmer and Dodge.). This was mentioned somewhere. [Mark Weisz raised this issue
on the A-List - nothing came of it apparently - Aug 26 2010]
28. Attorneys file more papers. Case moves on.
29. August 25, 2010 - Joe Tully states on A-List that he obtained a "Bouris.send.doc" from a Public Documents Law request. Tully thinks that it is NOT a bonafide E-mail.
(This E-mail was supposedly a forgery contrived by Coughlin.) Please see https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassachusettssite/home/oct-2010-emails-for-j-tully - these Emails
were sent to me by Joe Tully after he offered them to any interested party on the Damon List
30. Sept 12 2010 - I believe there was a recent public comment - perhaps on the Advocate website - reporting that the judge who threw out Coughlin's arbitration ruling is 80 years old,
and depends on a Arlington lawyer to develop his rulings
31. Sept 12 2010 - recently Joe T said on the A-List that this case is not even half way thru yet - and apparently Mark W extrapolated that to say that the Town's legal fees will run
over $ one million - I believe there was a public comment at the Advocate website claiming that Coughlin was hired without experience
32. Sept 12 2010 - What about the Email headers? IIRC we never saw any headers on any of the infamous Emails. Do they exist?
33. Sept 13ish 2010 - Curran mentions Coughlin Bouris at Board of Selectmen meeting - Owayda and Fennelly attack Curran on Damon List
34. Sept 16 2010 - Schools are now budgeting $500,000 for legal expenses in FY2011 - plus $200,000 for Special Ed legal expenses
35. 18 Oct 2010 - http://www.yourarlington.com/pdf/schools/10/LegalServicesReport10610.pdf - why is Arlington paying $500K +++ for the 'Levenson disaster' legal fees when they should be
covered for free per Page 4 (Labor Relations) - [Approx Dec 2010 there was an article in the Boston Globe about Boston law firms illegally overcharging their clients - note added
- 12 Jan 2011]
35. 14 Oct 2010 - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/opinions/x1389360915/Letter-Willingness-to-listen - Paul Schilchtman is asked about his support of Nate Levenson
36. 12 January 2011 - Joe Tully postulates on the Damon List that Bouris was fired because Levenson was following the guidelines of the "Broad Academy".
Apparently the "Broad Academy" advises school superintendents to use all sorts of underhanded tricks to maintain the status quo of public schools versus private schools.
Tully also says that he thinks that Arlington is attempting a "hail Mary pass" type defense - focusing on winning the arbitration cases in order to prevent massive losses on the lawsuits.
37. early Jan 2011 - questions on Damon List from Betsy Swartz to Annie LaCourt about offers being made between defendants and plaintiffs in the case.
Perhaps a Mexican standoff is underway - whatever that means.
38. Late 2010 - early 2011 - the estate of Boston woman was awarded $70 million in a smoking lawsuit. What if Bouris & Coughlin are awarded $70 million?
39. March 2011 - teacher loses arbitration case - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/x337039084/Former-Arlington-teacher-loses-arbitration-case#axzz1HZHBEDGh
40. March 2012 - http://www.yourarlington.com/pdf/schools/12/bouris_32712.pdf - Bouris loses arbitration decision - this is a very good overview of the case
- many good things said about Bouris - possibly the arbitrator opened a very large can of worms here
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Overall - at this point - I see a law firm that has "earned" $500,000. Maybe Arlington can get its money back from that law firm. (Aug 28 2010 - I still see lawyers making a killing here)
[If you want a copy of the arbitration report, file a Public Records Law request. That might be fruitiful. (Moot point as of 21 Feb 2010 - Bob Sprague published the arbitration report)]
I am not a lawyer. This post has not been vetted by a team of experts. I never read posts from certain Damon-List members. This outline (list of red flags) is based on
A-List info, government info, and news media reports.
Peter Sz