Letter: A Call For Better Communication
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I listened to former Amherst Regional School Committee (RSC) Chair, Ben Herrington’s WHMP interview discussing his resignation from the school committee. During the interview Ben says he has “given up on the town” and discussed his frustration with demands from the community. He stated during the interview that RSC never had the authority to place the superintendent on administrative leave. I was surprised to learn this as I was one of the members of the community who wrote (respectfully) to Ben in his capacity as Chair of the RSC, asking him to call a special meeting of the committee to consider placing the superintendent on administrative leave pending the outcome of the Title IX investigation. I wrote to Ben because I saw this action as a matter of fairness, since school staff under the superintendent’s supervision had already been placed on administrative leave. When these requests started to roll in from many members of the community, the question is why was there no public statement issued by the town clarifying that these requests were outside the RSC’s authority? When things become heated, having no response from leaders only fans the flames of those who feel their needs are being ignored. In this kind of situation, what mechanism exists for the town to issue a public statement to help cool things down? This kind of clarification would have saved a lot of frustration on both sides and allowed for more informed discussion and advocacy. Communication must go in both directions for democracy to work. I stand by my assertion that vitriol is not the problem. Lack of effective communication plays the larger role. When we hit a bump in the road in Amherst, instead of pointing fingers, resigning and walking away, better communication would help bring the positive change we all desire.
Peggy Matthews-Nilsen
Peggy Matthews-Nilsen is a retired psychotherapist, a resident of Amherst for 14 years with family roots that go back to the founding of the town.
Peggy, government officials can’t respond they way you are requesting. They must be deliberative, listen to legal counsel, and avoid making rash statements. How about trusting the processes that exist for dealing with situations like this? If our elected officials are quitting because of frustration from the community, that’s a big warning sign. We could all use a little bit humility.
The RSC could not put Morris on leave, but RSC + Union 26 could, just as those two are the ones who hire and fire him. But they could only discuss that in exec session, not in public.
I know there were calls for more meetings with SC members. That could not have been in public if the topic was what to do with Morris, or employees.
I totally agree that communication could be better.
IMHO the schools and town need an ombudsman to deal with issues like this before they become a crisis. That person would identify when an issue is heating up and would step in to facilitate communication. That person needs to be a professional not an SC or Town Council member.
Jim Barna: I respectfully disagree. An email from the Chair or other RSC member responding to my request (and the same request from many in the community) stating only that the request was not within the authority of the RSC, would not have involved a “rash statement” or a comment on the merit of the request. When no response from officials was offered, it appeared constituents were being ignored. Trust is earned. How the situation was handled did not inspire trust from the community.
I think your ombudsman idea is an excellent one, Rick, though I have questions about how it would be implemented. UMASS has an Ombudsman Services Office. They explicitly state that their mission is to facilitate communication and conflict resolution, but not to conduct formal investigations or replace a grievance process.
At any rate, if a designated ombudsman could help slow down the revolving door of school administrators that Amherst (and other towns) have experienced, it would be well worth considering.
I seldom agree with Peggy, but I believe her comment (quoting below) is reasonable and well stated…
“An email from the Chair or other RSC member responding to my request (and the same request from many in the community) stating only that the request was not within the authority of the RSC, would not have involved a “rash statement” or a comment on the merit of the request. When no response from officials was offered, it appeared constituents were being ignored.”
If it is the policy of the School Committee not to respond to emails and other requests, then that seems like a flaw in the system. Referring such requests to an ombudsperson, per Rick’s suggestion, seems like a potentially good solution.
The anger, shock and sadness that was and is felt by many across the community, has shown that the system in place needs to improve, and I hope that we get there, for the sake of all of our kids.
Yes, the gender-neutral “ombudsperson,” or simply “ombuds,” the term that UMASS uses, are preferred words for a conflict resolution practitioner.
Today’s Indy piece by Maria Kopicki about a potential OML violation by Ben Herrington in July makes it seem as though he once did believe the RSC could have placed Dr. Morris on leave, but didn’t think that was a wise move: (https://www.amherstindy.org/2023/09/07/regional-school-committee-failed-to-address-earlier-oml-concern-this-one-by-then-chair-herrington/) Other MA school committees (Lexington and Saugas for example) have placed superintendents on leave in the past year, so although it’s a moot point in Amherst right now, it does seem like it was possible. I agree that better communication from the school committees to the public is greatly needed. As an Amherst resident, I’ve found Jennifer Shiao and Irv Rhodes to be extremely responsive and committed to transparency, and I am so grateful for their continued service. I hope that the new members (elected and appointed) will join them in that approach.