The Westwood Regional School Board has agreed to pay $400,000 to its now-former superintendent, Jill Mortimer, ending a months-long dispute that began when she abruptly reversed a plan to retire.
The board voted 5-1 at an emergency meeting Thursday to approve the deal with Mortimer, who sued the district and three current and former board members in June for allegedly creating a hostile work environment.
In a separate vote, the panel appointed Bronwen Calderón, Westwood Regional's director of secondary education, as acting superintendent until a permanent replacement can be found. Calderón will receive a $5,000 monthly stipend in that time, the board decided.
In April, the board said Mortimer had asked for a $1 million buyout of her contract , after she backed out of a plan to retire at the end of the school year. Board members said in the spring that they'd been conducting a search and had found Mortimer's replacement, but because the superintendent had never submitted a formal letter of registration, she stayed in her position.
Mortimer, who took over in 2021, wasn't at Thursday's meeting, and Armen McOmber, her attorney, did not immediately return a call on Friday. He had hinted at potential legal action in April, accusing the board of a "campaign of harassment and unlawful discrimination" intended to push his client out.
The K-12 district serves about 2,800 students in Westwood and Washington Township.
Why Westwood board approved settlement
On Thursday, Business Administrator Keith Rosado said the $400,000 payment included $170,837 for the value of the remaining two years of Mortimer's contract and $229,162 to settle the lawsuit.
If the district had not settled and Mortimer had stayed in place, he said, she would have been owned a $257,343 annual salary for the current year and “about 2.5% above that” for the following year. That would work out to about $520,000.
Asked if a search will be conducted for a full-time replacement superintendent, board President Jay Garcia said he couldn’t elaborate. But he added that the district has "some options we can revisit” that could shorten the process. The board will provide more information “very soon," Garcia said.
Garcia joined Loni Azzolina, Nicole Martin, Andrea Peck and Jorge Pertuz in approving the settlement, while Doug Cusato voted no. Laura Cooper and Kristen Pedersen, who were individually named in Mortimer’s lawsuit, abstained and recused themselves, respectively. Board member Heather Perin also abstained.
The search for a new superintendent
Eight members of the board all voted to approve Calderón's appointment and stipend. They also approved a $2,000 monthly stipend for Denise Vélez, the director of elementary education, who will assist Calderón.
Before the vote, Pedersen thanked Calderón and Vélez for stepping into the positions and said she was “really excited” about what they would bring to their roles. “Thank you for rising to the occasion and leading us at a time we needed it the most,” she added.
Peck echoed Pedersen’s sentiments and thanked Calderón and Vélez for moving the district along during a time of transition. Garcia said he was also excited to see them lead and have a “long-lasting presence at this district."
Mortimer's lawsuit: board tried to 'bully' her after surgery
Mortimer's suit named the district and former school board President Michael Pontillo as defendants, along with Cooper and Pedersen. It said the superintendent was subjected to "an utterly intolerable and hostile work environment due to her various disabilities."
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According to the suit, after Mortimer went on a medical leave for spinal fusion surgery in April 2023, there was a "calculated and concerted effort to bully, harass and intimidate" her by "subjecting her to disparate treatment" on the basis of her disability. The board directed Mortimer to return to work against her physician’s advice, cutting short her leave by at least six weeks, she alleged.
When she returned to the office, she was told by Pontillo that her "performance and actions were in stark contrast to the manner in which she performed" before the back surgery, said the suit, which called that an "utterly baseless accusation."
Cooper also allegedly “trapped” Mortimer in her office after her return to work and screamed at her, triggering what the suit said was Mortimer’s post-traumatic stress disorder and causing “significant emotional distress.” The document also said Pedersen had "dispatched emails to an individual who reports" to Mortimer, "directly mentioning her PTSD and disparaging" the schools chief for her "psychotic behavior."
Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: noda@northjersey.com
Twitter/X: @snoda11
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Westwood settles with schools superintendent who refused to retire. How much did she get?
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