Letter: Saulsberry Withdraws From Consideration for School Committee Vacancy
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After much consideration, I have withdrawn my name from consideration for the interim school committee position. Central to my consideration is the action taken by the interim superintendent with respect to the Title IX report, and the interview, list of questions, and process connected to the appointment process. Freedom of information may take care of this. The process and the questions do not recognize that the system is in peril. Under the guise of being neutral and unbiased, the process and the questions represent a denial that there is a crisis. I have no faith that the Town Council, except for a few, has the will or the power to respond to those who are followers of the Amherst Forward agenda. I question what influence, if any, I would have on the School Committee in light of the forces of Amherst Forward. I am at a point in life where being ineffective does not sit well. Perhaps, my younger self would have plunged headlong into the fray. Those days are no more. As the philosopher in “Odyssey” states, “The future happens, no matter how much we scream.” Yet, we must continue to scream. We can still scream together.
Gaylord Saulsberry
Gaylord Saulsberry is a resident of Amherst and a former principal at Amherst Regional High School
Thank you Mr Saulsberry for your candid truth. You are a respected educator who positively influenced the lives of many teenage students in the ARHS including my two children. They are adults now. My daughter still speaks of you and her exceptional learning experience in your classroom. It is a loss that you have withdrawn yourself as a candidate for one of the school committee vacancies. It is a tragedy for the town.
This saddens me – I’ll tell you why – I have so much respect for you – the truth somewhere In the 90’s -2000’s – We stopped having transparency I recall my friend being the school resource officer for the Town of Amherst and there was a fight in the classroom – he was standing in the office when all the administrators ran by him and didn’t say a word. Sometime ago Amherst lost its ability to willingness to involve police or other community leaders,as well as parents in the problem solving process. Whether is was due to fear of Legal Action / shielding the reputation of the Town / The Schools Or a combination of all – It has been a frustration for many families including mine for a long time – I graduated in 86 – my husband in 90 – My daughter in 2010- my Son would have graduated in 2014 but the ARMS was a horrible mess so we had him attend Smith Voc – my other daughter lived through the Geryk / Pelham Mess and we School Choiced her out of District in 6th grade – while her former classmates suffered at the ARMS .
The Truth is it takes a village – We forgot this a long time ago – You Would be a great person to remind the school community of this I can see how your no nonsense work ethic would be challenging in the current environment.
Sadly, we agree with everything stated above by Mr. Saulsberry, Nancy and Rebecca. We had 3 children go through the Amherst school system. The Town has long been practicing smoke and mirrors regarding protecting its reputation* against realty, just ask parents of former students (or retired public safety employees). We have our own example of a cover-up by school officials which ultimately required us to take legal action.
* We will never forget attending a “debate” at Town Hall years ago when Andy Churchill (AF) stood-up to lobby for an over-ride stating that “we must protect the Amherst brand”. And here we thought our tax dollars were supposed to go towards providing and maintaining a healthy infrastructure and improving the lives of town residents.
We hope that Mr. Saulsberry is willing to submit his letter to the Hampshire Gazette. We think many residents could benefit from his candor.
Just want to publicly state my deep respect for you.
Thank you. I appreciate your words and you have my utmost respect
My three kids were in the, then, Junior High, when John Burutto was principal. Students knew exactly where they stood and no non-sense was tolerated. When bullying occurred, he was immediately on the scene rectifying the situation; behavioral standards were well-known as well as the consequences. Of course, there were many and loud complaints from the public, but it was good for my kids.