AMHERST — Continuing to claim that the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee held four illegal executive sessions in July and August to discuss a potential severance with former superintendent Maria Geryk, a Shutesbury resident has filed an Open Meeting Law complaint with the state attorney general’s office.
Michael Hootstein said Monday that the amended complaint was sent to Kevin W. Manganaro, an assistant attorney general.
Hootstein said he went directly to to the state agency after receiving no formal response to complaints filed Aug. 1 and Aug. 15 with the school committee and Amherst town clerk.
In his latest complaint, which includes documents from the school committee, he argues that intentional violations were committed by then Chairwoman Laura Kent and member Katherine Appy, and that the executive sessions were held for an improper purpose, that the committee used improper procedures to schedule them and that the topics for discussion were insufficiently specific.
Hoostein also alleges that Geryk and committee members prevented open-session evaluation of her work and that she had access to evaluations in advance of their becoming public.
The complaint also refers to an Aug. 22 letter sent by five members of the regional committee to Mitchell Chester, the commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, requesting assistance. Hootstein writes that this letter is “racially divisive” and proves committee members assisted Geryk in secret deliberations.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
