AMHERST – A stay-away order issued against the mother of a Pelham Elementary School student in March is no longer in effect, Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager, said Tuesday.
He spoke a day after the Select Board discussed but did not release a letter that Hechenbleikner composed on the issue, in response to a critical email from another town official.
School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage said Select Board members had been silent on what she described as a social justice matter.
Superintendent Maria Geryk, who issued the order to Aisha Hiza, of Chicopee, based on input from Pelham and Amherst police, could not be reached for comment by email or phone Tuesday afternoon.
Hiza said in a text message Tuesday that until she gets official word from Geryk or Hechenbleikner that the order has ended, she will view it as still in effect.
“In my eyes till that is done it means nothing,” Hiza said.
Douangmany Cage said she, too, hasn’t heard officially that the stay-away order is no longer in effect. She said she remains curious about the circumstances that allowed it to happen.
“It’s been interesting there hasn’t been an announcement,” Douangmany Cage said. “I’m interested in knowing how it got figured out.”
Contents of the Select Board letter have not been made public. Hechenbleikner turned down a request from the Gazette to provide his draft.
But he said he intends to disseminate it publicly Monday, when the composition will be stamped as draft and revisions will have been made by board members so that an official statement can be released.
“We don’t want to confuse the community by having a draft letter out and a final letter out,” Hechenbleikner said.
Hechenblikner said it was a challenge in writing a letter as Amherst town manager, when much of the matter concerns activities in Pelham.
“It’s a hard letter to write. It’s hard to figure out what exactly to say,” Hechenbleikner said.
On Monday, advocates for Hiza continued urging the Select Board address what they see as a social injustice.
A draft statement written by Hechenbleikner was presented to the board but not made public.
“I think we’ll have a response of some sort soon,” said board member Douglas Slaughter.
Douangmany Cage said she believes the involvement of Amherst Police in Geryk’s decision to issue the order puts the town at risk of litigation. “Please don’t insult our intelligence by saying this is conveniently compartmentalized,” Douangmany Cage said.
She said she worries the town is “opening up to a potential public snare,” pointing out that the town has twice faced Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaints as a result of school incidents.
One was filed by former high school teacher Carolyn Gardner for alleged repeated racially threatening attacks that led to a $180,000 settlement last year, the other by parent Victor Nunez Ortiz, has a racial profiling complaint against police and school officials pending with the state agency.
Select Board members said they have to use care in how they comment on the stay-away order issued against Hiza.
Hiza has said that while she was often vocal in her disagreement with the school’s handling of alleged racially tinged bullying of her 7-year-old daughter, she was never threatening to staff.
Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said there could be legal consequences resulting from taking a position on the underlying issue. “It’s not a lack of empathy toward questions of justice,” Steinberg said. “I think we’re all committed to appropriate justice.” Steinberg added that he does not have the full set of facts about what compelled Geryk to issue the order. “I know this has been a very difficult circumstance for everyone involved,” Steinberg said. Board member Constance Kruger said she does not want the Select Board’s statement to make a judgment about facts, and that it should “just stick to what our job is and the charges that were brought to us.”
Hiza, who attended Monday’s meeting accompanied by nearly a dozen supporters, said she was disappointed that board members appear to be ducking the issue of why the superintendent believed it was necessary to issue the order against her.“Not speaking about this situation is making it worse,” Hiza said.
Also attending Monday’s meeting was Kathleen Anderson, president of the Amherst chapter of the NAACP.Anderson said there must be dialogue leading to an appreciation about how racism occurs and the “everyday lived experiences” of people of color. “There is a need for white people in town to really understand how racism works,” Anderson said.
“I think the masses are still confused about what racism is, and how it’s experienced.”
Douangmany Cage said the stay-away order will be a topic for the School Equity Task Force, which she serves as chairwoman. The next meeting is at 4 p.m. June 15 in the professional development center at the middle school.
Former School Committee member Amilcar Shabazz, who was also at the meeting, previously sought Select Board action through a request addressed to all members last week via social media. “Their experience does involve a lack of equity, justice, and simple decency,” Shabazz wrote about Hiza and her daughter. “You must not make a legalistic dodge. Our police chiefs must explain how they see their role in this matter.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
