Dalio partnership CEO could get $120K severance
The embattled CEO of Connecticut’s soon-to-bedissolved education partnership, Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, is owed more than $120,000 in severance if terminated — provided she doesn’t publicly criticize the publicprivate initiative, according to contract information obtained by the CT Mirror.
But hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio’s philanthropic arm — not the state — would cover any separation costs owed by the Partnership for Connecticut. That’s because Dalio Philanthropies has agreed to pay all partnership personnel costs, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s office.
State officials also pledged last week that all financial transactions by the partnership would ultimately be released, closing the book on an experiment that has been marked by controversy over transparency since its inception nearly one year ago. Although the Dalios received praise for contributing $100 million over five years — an amount the state pledged to match — to invest in some of Connecticut’ lowest-performing schools, the Dalios’ offer came with an unprecedented qualifier: the process would be exempt from state disclosure and ethics rules.
Lamont and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly granted the Dalios’ request when they passed legislation establishing the partnership, but that decision led to persistent criticisms that decisions were being made without full transparency — including those related to the hiring process for its CEO and her ultimate removal.
Following a Freedom of Information request from the CT Mirror, the Lamont administration last week released the contract sent to Schmitt-Carey, who was hired March 23.
“Although you are an at-will employee, should the Partnership decide to exercise its right to terminate your employment, the Partnership will provide you with a severance payment equal to six (6) months’ salary,” reads the agreement, which set SchmittCarey’s annual compensation at $247,500.
But while the partnership’s original blueprint called for Connecticut and Dalio Philanthropies to fund the partnership equally, “it has been the organization’s practice to have all operating expenses be paid for by the Dalios,” said Max Reiss, spokesman for Lamont.
The issue of severance pay and Schmitt-Carey’s future are uncertain for two reasons.
Partnership Chairman Erik Clemons placed her on paid administrative leave on May 7, three days, she asserts, after Clemons and Dalio Philanthropies’ representatives urged her to resign.
Less than two weeks later, on May 19, Lamont announced Ray and Barbara Dalio, who first proposed the joint venture, had grown frustrated about news leaks and decided to dissolve the partnership. The Dalios have pledged to continue funding their end of the project, even though the partnership is over.
CEO compensation had been a source of disagreement
Schmitt-Carey’s compensation was a sticking point between the Dalios and the state even before she was hired.
The partnership had budgeted $247,500 for the post. Legislative leaders who serve on the partnership’s Board of Directors said they balked when asked to consider annual compensation in excess of $300,000 — more than what most superintendents earn — and noted that taxpayer funds would match the couple’s investment dollarfor-dollar.
The partnership ultimately settled on $247,500 and hired Schmitt-Carey, longtime CEO of Say Yes to Education, another nonprofit focused on improving inner city education, lauding her experience in the field.
The honeymoon didn’t last long. Just six weeks into the job, Schmitt-Carey charged that Clemons, Barbara Dalio, and partnership staffer Andrew Ferguson “ambushed” her with “false and defamatory allegations” during a May 4 phone call and urged her to resign.
Schmitt-Carey described the meeting in a later email to all partnership board members.
Elected state officials on the partnership’s board said they would not learn of these actions until May 8.
The CT Mirror posed questions to Dalio Philanthropies and the partnership through Global Strategy Group, a public relations firm retained by the Dalios. They declined to comment.
Schmitt-Carey also refused to be interviewed.
‘Non-disparagement’ agreements raise concerns — in public sector
While Schmitt-Carey’s contract has a severance provision, it also stipulates she “will not at any time make, publish, or communicate to any person or entity or in any public forum any defamatory or disparaging remarks, comments, or statements concerning the Partnership, or any of its employees, officers, and associated third parties.”
Such “non-disparagement” agreements, though common in the private sector, have increasingly come under fire in state government.
The Senate passed a bill in 2015 barring public agencies from reaching deals with managers after the state university system paid departing President Gregory Gray $70,000 through a “non-disparagement” deal. [The bill died in the House.] Gray had faced sharp criticism from faculty and legislators.
The state auditors also urged lawmakers to ban the practice altogether after Connecticut Lottery Corp CEO Anne Noble stepped down in 2016 following an investigation into gaming fraud.
Despite resigning, Noble was given the post of “senior advisor” and paid $25,000 per month through a non-disparagement deal — an arrangement auditors said allowed her to reach a 10-year employment threshold and qualify for public retirement benefits.
A tumultuous year
When the Dalios, via the Lamont administration, insisted that the partnership be exempt from state disclosure and ethics rules, legislators granted the demand over strong objections from House Republicans.
The Dalios and Lamont defended the exemption by saying the problems facing Connecticut’s school systems couldn’t be solved without difficult, sensitive conversations that would never occur if they were subjected to public scrutiny. Board decisions and finances, they said, still would be explained afterward and made public through website reports and community briefings.
Critics, like Gwen Samuel of Meriden, president of the Connecticut Parents Union, said the approach was counter-intuitive, limiting access to families most concerned about improving public schools.
“If we’re talking about parents taking responsibility for their children, if we’re talking about parents being engaged, then this approach was contradictory to all of the efforts of our public school system,” she said. “You don’t meet privately and tell us what you did afterward. You have to include us. There is no way around that.”
But the Dalios also sought to vet and approve legislative leaders’ appointments to the partnership board. Democrats and Republicans balked at this, and a compromise was reached for top lawmakers to serve themselves on the panel.
Then, when Attorney General William Tong concluded elected state officials on the board would have to disclose partnership documents in accordance with FOI rules, Dalio representatives proposed empowering a subcommittee of the board —one that included no elected officials — to make most major decisions.
“It has become clear that it’s not working because of political fighting,” Barbara Dalio wrote in a statement on May 19. “I am not a politician and I never signed up to become one. I only want to help people. Through this experience I’ve learned about our broken political system and I don’t see a path through it to help people.” She added that even without the partnership the Dalios still would invest $100 million in public schools in poor communities.
When the partnership ultimately broke down, the Dalios blamed House Republicans — particularly Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby — and the news media.
But Connecticut’s partnership with the Dalios — who have won praise from education leaders for previous initiatives to assist atrisk students in several communities — was different from state initiatives from the start.
In a May 23 post on Twitter, Ray Dalio never named Klarides but effectively identified her, charging her with playing partisan politics and leaking “distorted stories to some media folks who wanted to write sensationalistic stories.”
But Klarides wasn’t the only critic, even among legislators.
Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the proposal to empower an executive subcommittee to run the partnership would have reduced the role of legislators to “window dressing.”
And after the partnership collapsed, two Democratic leaders — Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter — both said the basic approach, in hindsight, was flawed.
Lamont, at the end, was frustrated that SchmittCarey’s personnel issue had made news reports, and expressed surprise the offer to provide limited access to the process, through reports, briefings and press conferences, hadn’t assuaged critics.
“We worked through this, I thought,” he said. “We were going to earn the trust of the people of Connecticut.”
The governor and the four legislative leaders on the board have declined to discuss specifics of the CEO matter, noting that personnel issues among public school employees normally are exempt from disclosure under FOI law.
But Lamont and all four legislative leaders on the board — Looney, Fasano, Klarides and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz — all asserted last week that the partnership’s fiscal records still would remain public.
As researchers, when running new clinical trials, we never know what to expect.
Most of the time they are complete failures, forcing us back to the drawing board. But in very rare cases, results far exceed our expectations and these product work better than we could have ever imagined.
This is the case with the most recent breakthrough in Urology called Urivarx, a new bladder control pill which has performed extraordinary in every test.
From dramatic reductions in urgency and frequency… dribbling and leaking… nighttime bathroom trips… and even diaper use…the improvements men and women are seeing with this nonprescription pill have been phenomenal.
So phenomenal, in fact, it’s been rumored that the new capsule may soon replace diapers in pharmacies across the country.
Why so effective? asked its developers same question.
We that
STRENGTHENS THE BLADDER MUSCLES & PREVENTS THEM FROM RELEASING
Until now, many within the medical community − including myself − believed it was impossible to strengthen the muscles that control the bladder without drugs, surgery, or exercises.
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The secret? A revolutionary discovery that helps the bladder create a tighter seal...while also preventing your bladder from releasing involuntarily.
Research shows that as we age, the muscles surrounding the bladder can deteriorate. This is triggered by hormonal changes in the body which results in muscle atrophy, the medical term for muscle shrinking.
When these muscles get too small and weak, they cannot seal the bladder shut. That’s why you may leak, dribble, and experience uncontrollable accidents.
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“URIVARX TARGETS A FAILING BLADDER IN A WHOLE NEW WAY”
In its most recent clinical trial, scientists discovered a trio of science based compounds that actually strengthen the tiny muscles surrounding the bladder. So effectively that they were shown to decrease adult diaper use by a staggering 400%.
Even more surprising, these three compounds also had a rejuvenating effect on the bladder, allowing it to work like it was years younger.
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IMPRESSIVE CLINICAL RESULTS
The exciting clinical results published on the government clinical website clinicaltrials.gov show that UriVarx™ can strengthen your bladder fast, significantly reducing the urine urgency and leaks.
In a new double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study, 142 men and women with bladder control issues were separated into two groups. The first group was given a placebo while the other received UriVarx™.
The results incredible.
were
The participants who received UriVarx™ saw major improvements in leaking, pressure, and the urgency to go − all without the usual side effects seen in prescription drugs! They also reported fewer trips to the bathroom both day and night.
Additionally, at the end of clinical trial and after seeing the results, 84% of the participants taking UriVarx™ said it significantly improved their quality of life.
“The clinical findings are incredible, but people still wonder if it will really work” explains lead developer for Urivarx. “It’s normal to be skeptical, but we’ve seen thousands of UriVarx™ users get results exactly like the participants in the study. It’s an amazing product.”
EXCITING RESULTS FROM URIVARX USERS
Many UriVarx™ users say their bladders have never been stronger. For the first time in years, they are confident and in complete control. Adult pads and diapers are no longer a big worry.
“It’s exciting to hear all of the positive feedback” explains a spokesperson for the company.
“Its also helps to gain perspective. These people will share how embarrassed they’ve become over the situation. How uncomfortable it makes social outings and the interruptions it causes in daily life.
They can’t believe the change Urivarx has made. The fear is gone. They are back to feeling in control”
HOW IT WORKS
UriVarx™ is a pill that’s taken just once daily. It does not require a prescription.
The active ingredients are patented natural extracts.
Research shows that as we get older, the muscles which surround the bladder weaken. This is caused by hormonal changes in the body that causes the muscles to atrophy and weaken.
When they become too small and weak, they cannot seal your bladder shut, which causes leaking, accidents, among other incontinence symptoms.
It also prevents your bladder from fully emptying, which can result in persistent bacterial infections and UTIs.
UriVarx’s™ active ingredient targets the muscles around the bladder, making them stronger. Supporting ingredients in UriVarx™ support kidney function and overall urinary health.
BLADDER PROBLEMS GONE
With daily use, UriVarx™ can restore strong bladder control and help users overcome leakage without the negative side effects or interactions associated with drugs.
Leakage sufferers can now put an end to the uncontrollable urges, the embarrassing accidents, and enjoy an entirely new level of comfort and confidence.
HOW TO GET URIVARX IN CONNECTICUT
This is the official release of UriVarx™ in Connecticut. As such, the company is offering a special discounted supply to anyone suffering from bladder issues who calls within the next 48 hours.
A special hotline number and discounted pricing has been created for all Connecticut residents. Discounts will be available starting today at 6:00AM and will automatically be applied to all callers.
Your Toll-Free Hotline number is 1-800-310-8689 and will only be open for the next 48 hours. Only a limited discounted supply of UriVarx™ is currently available in your region.