When RSU 71 interim superintendent Bob England announced last week that the administration is recommending closing the Kermit Nickerson Elementary school in Swanville, he also introduced a potential tenant for the school building: a behavioral health company called Brett DiNovi & Associates.
The company, which operates in eight states, including Maine, has been the subject of several lawsuits in recent years, including over alleged gender discrimination and sexual abuse of a minor.
While no agreement has been formally proposed, England and a representative of the company floated the idea of leasing the school building — if it were to be vacated — to the company in order to create a private school that would serve the districts’ students with the most significant needs.
The most serious lawsuit, filed in Pennsylvania last July, alleges that an employee of the company groomed and sexually assaulted a minor in his care on more than one occasion, according to court records and the plaintiff’s attorney, David Kwartler.
The company has also been named in several other lawsuits alleging workplace discrimination against female employees and violations of labor laws.
In a statement, England said that there is no agreement or memorandum of understanding with Brett DiNovi & Associates — “not even close at this point,” he wrote. The first step to repurposing the school would be for the community and the school board to vote to close the school, which has yet to happen.
The district is holding a public meeting at the school Wednesday, Feb. 4, to discuss proposed school closure.
England wrote that he was aware of some lawsuits, adding that “there are lawsuits all the time for most organizations, so that may or may not be a reason to pursue them as a means to meet our students’ needs.”
The district would do its due diligence before entering into any agreement, he said.
In a 2023 lawsuit filed in New Jersey, Carli Dirienzo, a former employee of Brett DiNovi & Associates alleged that the company and its CEO, Brett DiNovi, subjected her and other female employees to “pervasive discrimination and harassment. She alleges that she and other employees were forced to sign a document titled “17 Reasons Why Women Don’t Make Good Leaders”. The company also refused to hire women who were pregnant or had the potential to become pregnant, she alleged. The case was dismissed in 2024.
In a prior lawsuit, filed in 2022, Sarah Lewis, who worked in the company’s human resources department, alleges she found that men were being paid more than women in similar positions. When she raised the issue with her supervisors and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission she allegedly faced retaliation and was ultimately fired.
That case was settled in 2024.
A New Jersey public school employee also filed a lawsuit in 2023 alleging that an employee of Brett DiNovi & Associates broke her wrist when he was “demonstrating restraint techniques for children.”
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
At the school board meeting in Belfast last week, Elijah Soll, Brett DiNovi & Associates’ chief strategy officer, made a presentation about his company which is currently working with eight school districts in Maine including in Madison, Skowhegan, Winslow and Waterville.
He said that if the Nickerson school were to close and if his company were to lease the space, it would likely be able to accommodate 25 students and 25 to 30 staffers.
RSU 71 currently pays thousands of dollars to send roughly 17 high-needs students to programs where they can get the services they need. Some programs are more than an hour away, England said at the meeting. If DiNovi & Associates operated a school in the Nickerson school building, it could offer RSU 71 students priority placement and charge less than what the district is currently paying, England said.
If the company and school district were to enter into an agreement, Soll said the company could come up with a memorandum of understanding very quickly.
He said he understands the district’s need to be thorough in planning the building’s future, but also said the demand for his company’s services is “outrageous.”
“If we’re not opening here, we’ll open somewhere else,” Soll said. “There’s no lack of business.”