I am appalled by the treatment of Aisha Hiza, the parent who has been prohibited, by order of Superintendent Maria Geryk, from setting foot on any school grounds in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District.
Hiza has not been allowed to drop off or pick up her 7-year-old daughter at school, which she needs to do because she lives outside the district.
What did this parent do that prompted the superintendent to issue the stay-away order? Had she been violent or threatening?
I read through the Gazette’s May 3 article expecting to see an explanation. But there was nothing of the kind. Hiza was simply persistent in expressing concerns about her daughter, who was being bullied by other students for racial reasons.
Wouldn’t any parent express concern if his or her child were being bullied? Apparently the teachers and administrators at Pelham Elementary School did not take action to stop the bullying, so this parent was obliged to take the issue to the superintendent. And there she was rewarded for her persistence with a stay-away order.
Superintendent Geryk pretended that this order related to the safety of the schools, but at no point did Hiza threaten anyone.
Presumably, Hiza decided to enroll her daughter in the Amherst-Pelham Schools because she believed that their public image is a truthful one: a school system founded on respect for multicultural values.
Another gaping hole has been torn in this facade, only a year after Geryk and the high school principal, Mark Jackson, failed to stand up for Carolyn Gardner, a high school math teacher who was racially threatened and tormented.
Let’s ask ourselves: If Hiza were white, persisting in expressing concerns about her child being bullied, would she be issued a stay-away order?
Margaret Halbeisen
Amherst