Suit Against School Officials

Dear reader,

My name is Isabel Denham and I am creating this fundraiser to help my mother, Ann Haskell, as she pursues a wrongful termination lawsuit against top administrators in the Marblehead Public Schools District. On December 6th, 2023, Ann Haskell and three other educators were placed on paid administrative leave without just cause, reported to the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and investigated by Comprehensive Investigations and Consulting (CIC) for an "inappropriate restraint" that occurred on November 20th, 2023 involving a student who Glover School educators had been asking for a plan of support for from Marblehead Administrators for months.

On the day of the incident in question, Ann Haskell and the other three educators placed on paid administrative leave were responding to a situation involving the aforementioned student, and in the interest of using the least restrictive method of de-escalation and protecting the safety of the dysregulated student, used a soft barrier while attempting to help the student regulate. While these educators were reported on for the use of a mechanical restraint, DESE restraint protocol specifically states that mats or barriers are NOT considered mechanical restraints and that untrained individuals are NOT precluded from the use of reasonable force to prevent imminent injury to students and staff.

The CIC report (paid for by Marblehead taxpayer dollars) concluded that Ann Haskell did NOT knowingly or with intent to know break Marblehead's restraint policy during the incident in question. Additionally, taxpayers were provided with a heavily redacted copy of the 54-page CIC report, with redactions including the recommendation that Ann Haskell specifically should not face any disciplinary action. Despite these findings, and at the expense of the town of Marblehead, the Interim Superintendent of the Marblehead School District decided to dismiss Ann Haskell from her position as Student Services Chair at Brown School and Glover School. As a result of her dismissal, this single mother of three is losing income and health benefits, and it has been implied that she will be denied unemployment benefits.

With her position as a Student Services Chair, Ann Haskell is not a member of the Union and is unable to receive legal representation from the Marblehead Education Association, unlike the other three educators who are still currently on paid administrative leave. As such, she is paying for all of her legal fees out of pocket. If you are interested in supporting Ann Haskell in her lawsuit against Marblehead Administrators, please consider donating any amount you can to this GoFundMe page. Thank you for your contribution!

For more information on the lawsuit, please see the article linked here published by

the Marblehead Current.