Thomas Breen photo
Tom Lamb, resigned as of Oct. 3.
More than four months after being placed on paid administrative leave with no explanation offered by the district, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tom Lamb has resigned.
That news is included in the Board of Education’s information-only personnel report, which was included in the agenda package of documents posted to the school district’s website on Monday, in advance of Tuesday’s full school board meeting.
According to that personnel report, Lamb’s resignation is effective as of Oct. 3.
Mayor Justin Elicker, who is also a voting member on the Board of Education, confirmed in a phone call with the Independent Monday that NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón is working to fill the new vacancy. He also shared that he wishes Lamb the best in his next endeavor and appreciates the work he has done for NHPS over the years.
Lamb stepped into the COO role on May 5, 2021, to fill a top NHPS position that had been vacant since Michael Pinto resigned as COO in 2019.
Lamb was placed on paid administrative leave on May 29, pending an undisclosed investigation. (Schools Superintendent Madeline Negrón said in a July interview on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” that the investigation is not related to a cyberattack that involved a $6 million theft.)
His departure comes as NHPS has also seen recent resignations by the district’s chief of staff and its coordinator of recruitment and retention. Despite Lamb’s resignation being effective Oct. 3, the COO job has not yet been posted on NHPS’ Frontline job board as of Monday.
Elicker also confirmed for the Independent that the city and school district are working to extend the contract of school district operations consultant Michael Carter to allow him to finish out facilities projects he’s started on during his initial three-month, $16,000-per-month consulting agreement. “The expectation at the moment is he is not [going to be] working indefinitely for the public schools,” Elicker said.
Elicker referred to Supt. Negrón all further questions regarding NHPS’ investigation of Lamb. Negrón, school district spokesperson Justin Harmon, and Lamb did not respond to requests for comment by the publication time of this article.
According the district’s website, the COO oversees the Department of Operations, which aims to “provide quality and safe spaces” for all students and faculty.
Board of Education Secretary Edward Joyner told the Independent in a phone call Monday that he plans to continue to support Negrón’s efforts to improve school maintenance. He said he is urging the district to bring more of its maintenance operations in-house and to establish a facilities performance metric to ensure accountability and quality work in school buildings.
When it comes to Lamb’s replacement, Joyner concluded, “We need the most competent and ethical person we can find.”