Folks invested in Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools should be alarmed about Maria Geryk’s recent resignation and the discussion of the disposition of her contract, but not for the reasons that have been presented in the newspapers and online.

The continued dysfunction in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, rooted in behavior by some members that runs counter to best practices and to the spirit and mission of the task for which they have been elected, perpetuate a hostile work environment discouraging to exactly the type of candidate that the district will be now seeking.

Do not misunderstand my point; advocacy for a political purpose or voting bloc has been and will be necessary in a system with ideals as lofty as APRS.

But to pursue those agenda items so narrowly, and so fervently, only serves to delay positive change. I’m speaking about leaking emails and information to the media, filing lawsuits when agreed-upon protocols bring unsatisfying results and perpetuating feuds in the press rather than reaching some mutual understanding, all of which have been common occurrences.

The focus of meetings becomes the business of select committee members, rather than the business of the district.

Being invested in the schools means demanding more of your committee.

It means insisting that its members engage in practices that set a good example for the students and families they serve. It means demanding that they speak, not as individuals, but once concerns are deliberated and adjudicated, as a single body.

It means that practices that undermine the trust and collegiality of the body, like leaking emails to the press, no longer be tolerated.

The district now needs a leader with vision who can both manage a multi-million dollar organization in an ever-evolving matrix of national, state, and local demands, and inspire the communities who depend on it.

A national superintendent search costs tens of thousands of dollars, and offers no guarantee of bringing in the kind of leader the district needs.

At the same time, there have been several local voices over the years that have expressed a profound distrust of “the establishment” of Amherst-Pelham schools. These forces opposed Geryk’s appointment as superintendent from the start, making it difficult to imagine that a good person like Michael Morris, a longtime APRS educator and administrator, will find an objective assessment of his leadership under discussion.

Geryk made some mistakes and missteps in her five-year superintendency. Some were small, some were glaring.

She did this in the face of opposition and suspicion from vocal members of the public, and ultimately, from the body that, until recently, employed her.

She was the imperfect leader of an imperfect school system in an imperfect town, employed by imperfect politicians who wanted her to be and remain perfect.

It is not hard to figure out the flaw in that expectation. Even so, many people have framed her resignation as a chance to bring in a leader who can establish the efficient, efficacious and equitable school system of their dreams.

But until the committee recommits itself through action not declaration to making Amherst-Pelham a district that serves all its students and families as best they can, I fear the district and its stakeholders will continue to suffer more of the terrible tumult that is becoming its defining trait.

Jamison Isler of South Deerfield was an English teacher at the Amherst Regional Middle School from 2004 to 2015 and a member of the Deerfield School Committee from 2009 to 2016.