EASTHAMPTON — A second School Committee member has resigned on the heels of a tempestuous superintendent search.

On Saturday morning, Laurie Garcia submitted her resignation to her colleagues via email. The resignation comes two weeks after former member Shannon Dunham also quit.

“After deep consideration, it is with utmost regret that I write this letter to inform you of my resignation, effective immediately,” Garcia wrote. “I can no longer work with a committee that has proven to act in ways that are detrimental to our school district and community at large.”

Garcia, elected to the committee in 2017, said she disagreed with the committee’s description of a “negotiation” with superintendent finalist Vito Perrone. The committee offered Perrone the superintendent position on March 23 and he accepted pending successful negotiations. Less than a week later, the committee at a March 30 executive session rescinded that offer after Perrone included “Ladies” as a salutation in an email.

That executive session is now the subject of an Open Meeting Law complaint, which alleged that the committee’s discussion and resulting decision during the March 30 executive session were not within the parameters of the stated reason for the executive session posted in advance of the meeting. The reason posted was to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel.

This week, School Committee Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski responded to the complaint on behalf of the committee, and defended the panel’s process that night.

“The only discussion that occurred in executive session was related to the communication and terms proposed by both parties. The fact that the communication and terms proposed did not result in an agreement being reached does not mean that strategy discussions regarding negotiations did not occur,” Kwiecinski wrote in an April 26 letter.

Garcia, however, disagrees with the chairperson’s assessment. She told the Gazette that there was “never a negotiation” with Perrone.

“I do not agree with the statement that we followed the agenda,” said Garcia. “It was a character assassination of Dr. Vito Perrone because we were repeatedly told that ‘he did not know how to be professional,’ ‘he was too cavalier,’ and he had used a ‘microaggression’ when he used ‘Ladies’ in an email.”

She also said that some committee members claimed Perrone was trying to get more from the district than the board was willing to give, including 14 weeks of vacation, which she says, “was never an ask from him.”

Garcia’s resignation comes two weeks after former Dunham resigned, citing both an upcoming medical procedure and that she disagreed with the way events transpired with Perrone.

Both Garcia and Dunham were among those who voted to hire Perrone on March 23. The pair also did not vote in favor of the committee’s decision to hire second superintendent finalist Erica Faginski-Stark after rescinding Perrone’s contract as Garcia abstained and Dunham dissented.

At the committee’s latest meeting on Tuesday, Garcia made a motion to reenter negotiations with Perrone, but did not secure the majority of votes to move forward. Instead, in a 5-1 vote, the committee chose to contact the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to see what candidates are available for an interim role. The committee also had the option to offer the job to superintendent finalist Jonathan Bruno, but decided against it after several members again felt that he was “not ready” for Easthampton.

“We’re moving backwards, not forwards, having to go with an interim and start a search again. We had a perfectly good superintendent with Dr. Perrone,” Garcia told the Gazette.

Community support

In the weeks that have followed since the Gazette first reported that Perrone’s job offer had been rescinded, Garcia said she’s received numerous letters from residents in the community thanking her for continuing to speak out. Those letters, she said, touched her.

In one letter Garcia shared, a current 11th-grade student at Easthampton High School thanked Garcia for continuing to speak out even after “multiple attempts of being silenced.”

“What you have done, has not gone unseen, and as a student of the district, I appreciate you,” the student wrote.

Another student wrote that they intended to pursue a degree in government and that Garcia had “inspired” her to continue that pursuit.

In a previous report, Garcia said she wanted to join the committee to provide her experience to several issues facing the schools at the time, including the new Mountain View School building process, the budget and hiring a new superintendent.

She also previously stated that she had experience in conflict resolution and a master’s degree in intercultural relations that would help aid in oversight and implementation of then-superintendent Nancy Follansbee’s 10-point action plan to improve the culture and climate within the school district. The plan was created after then-attorney general Maura Healey investigated the high school following allegations of racial bias and reached a consent agreement that required the district to take steps to address complaints about inequitable school discipline practices.

During her six-year tenure, Garcia served on the COVID-19 response team, and she organized the Walk, Bike and Roll events, which is part of a larger effort to create a safe route to the new Mountain View School. In working with the committee, she said she was particularly proud of how the committee came together for the Fund Our Future campaign, which helped increase state funding for pre-K-12 schools and state public colleges and universities.

Her departure from the committee, she says, is bittersweet as she was working toward bringing a dual language program to the district.

“I am especially disheartened that I can no longer strive to model for our students the integrity and transparency that are needed in leadership, and I hope you consider the students more as you try to move forward,” Garcia said her resignation letter. “I also hope that with time and healing, the committee can regain the community’s trust and return the focus to supporting our fabulous teachers and students.”

Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.]]>