A top Brookline school official is resigning, alleging financial mismanagement that she said has led to a “hostile work environment.”
Liza O’Connell, deputy superintendent of student services for the Public Schools of Brookline, wrote in a Dec. 6 letter to the School Committee that she is planning to depart her position on March 15, 2025. Her office oversees special education, nurses and health services, and school counseling.
The district has seen a high level of turnover in its most senior ranks in recent years.
O’Connell, who joined the district as interim deputy superintendent in 2022, wrote that the last two school years have featured “financial management issues within the Office of Administration and Finance (OAF) that are beyond my control.”
“It has become increasingly difficult over FY24 and FY25 to deliver the student services that the students and parents of Brookline expect and deserve, while being constantly distracted by an endless stream of budget, accounting and financial challenges,” the letter continued.
She wrote that a “hostile work environment” has developed over time and made her job untenable.
O’Connell, who came to Brookline after serving as director of special education for Dedham Public Schools, called on the School Committee to consider conducting an “independent audit and reconciliation” of the last two school year’s budgets.
“I have loved working on behalf of our PSB students, parents and staff, and am committed to a smooth transition,” she wrote.
Andy Liu, chair of the School Committee, declined to comment.
In a statement, Superintendent Linus Guillory thanked O’Connell for her service to the school district.
“I have full faith and confidence in the professional skills of all our senior leadership team members and am most appreciative of their work and service to the district,” he wrote. “The Town and the PSB have an annual audit by an outside CPA firm to ensure overall compliance. PSB continues to refine and improve its budgeting processes in keeping with best practices.
“We cannot, however, ignore a claim of a hostile work environment and have consulted with legal counsel to discuss next steps,” he continued.
O’Connell’s resignation follows other departures and indications of financial strain at the Brookline public schools.
There has been a high level of turnover at the most senior ranks.
Susan Givens, who joined the district last year as deputy superintendent for administration and finance, is moving to another unspecified position in the district. Guillory told the School Committee last month that a job posting to replace Givens will be ready “very soon.”
Both the other deputy superintendent, teaching and learning head Jodi Fortuna, and the director of educational equity, Claire Galloway-Jones, have only been in the district since 2023. Galloway-Jones joined the district after her predecessor resigned last year, citing a lack of support from PSB.
Last year, the district had to pay out $500,000 in damages to staff members to settle late wage claims after it was weeks late to pay them for summer work the year before.
And this year, the district’s largest afterschool program was shut down over a rent dispute which stemmed, in part, from turnover in the position of operations director for PSB.
The school district’s budget has also been strained: the School Committee voted in March to lay off world language teachers and literacy coaches, because of an unanticipated budget deficit.