InsideLowell has learned that John Descoteaux rescinded his retirement, after a plan to keep him working for the Lowell Public Schools as a consultant to assist his eventual successor with the transition to the new school year was met with some skepticism at last Wednesday’s School Committee meeting.

Descoteaux originally intended to retire as Transportation Director on July 2, 2024. However, after winning the District 8 City Council seat in the most recent municipal election, the State Ethics Commission informed him that under that scenario, he wouldn’t be able to be hired as a consultant after retiring.

As a result, Descoteaux changed those plans, retiring on December 29, 2023 and agreeing to work as a consultant for up to 500 hours during the 2024 calendar year while a replacement was hired, and to assist that person during the transition to the next academic year.

However, that agreement drew some skepticism from the School Committee and what seemed like a very public negotiation about pay rate and work hours played out during the first meeting of the new term. Descoteaux was taken aback by the discussion and informed all necessary parties on Thursday that he was rescinding his retirement and will instead walk away for good on July 5th.

“I wasn’t appreciative of having my salary brought out on the floor without my presence,” Descoteaux told InsideLowell. “The intent was to be available in August and September for the transition to the new school year, but if committee members feel otherwise, I’m happy going back to my original retirement date. I wish them well.”

When asked whether performing the Transportation Director duties as a consultant would have required more than 500-hours of work during the course of a year, Descoteaux acknowledged the reality of that scenario, given the hiring process to find his successor wouldn’t yield a replacement until mid-January at the earliest. However, he made it a point to tell InsideLowell he would never leave the schools and the students in a bind and wasn’t planning on “punching a clock” to keep tabs on how many hours were actually worked.