AMHERST — A series of emails and other correspondence to school officials that the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee chairman describes as smearing the character of district employees, and which have used bullying language, is prompting consideration of revisions to an anti-harassment policy.
For the second time this fall, the committee discussed Tuesday how to address what committee chairman Eric Nakajima said have become relentless personal attacks against administrators, committee members, teachers and others employed at Amherst schools, most of which have come from just one resident. School officials did not identify the resident in question.
“In my observation, this is becoming a significant detriment to the functioning and operations of our individual schools, as well as to some of our staff members,” Nakajima said.
Although Nakajima said there is a need to balance First Amendment rights, he wants to make sure that any updated policy puts an end to the targeting of individuals.
In one letter, the person calls an employee “a slob of a human” and a school attorney a “sleazy lawyer.” Another letter disparages a member of the committee.
Nakajima said the idea of any policy change would not be to restrict legitimate policy disagreements, observing that it is important for the committee and administrators to hear complaints and concerns.
“If you have a problem with what we’re doing, bring it on,” Nakajima said.
The district’s current policies have the School Committee making a commitment to nondiscrimination and educational equity and nondiscrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity or sexual orientation, with the superintendent able to designate an individual to act as the school system’s Title IX compliance officer. In September, the committee was presented potential revisions that would allow law enforcement to become involved at the discretion of school officials for certain violations of these policies.
Although one person is responsible for the most concerning emails, Amherst representative Anastasia Ordonez said it is not right for a person with a vendetta against the district to be able to use such language without consequences.
“It should be alarming to our community that we have such a sustained level of attack and vitriol being directed at individuals,” Ordonez said.
Ordonez said she is not looking to police speech, but at the same time, the committee can’t have administrators and teachers worried about opening their emails each morning.
Leverett representative Kip Fonsh said the committee needs to address the “nonsense” as a way to retain school leaders and teachers.
“I don’t see this as new, I see it as intensifying over the last 15 to 20 years,” said Fonsh, a retired high school teacher.
Noting that one message contained explicitly anti-Semitic language, Fonsh said he intends to provide a copy to the Jewish Community of Amherst.
The discussion on how to address the matter will continue when the committee next meets Nov. 12.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
