SOUTH HADLEY — An independent investigator found the head of a South Hadley charter school engaged in “angry outbursts” which left recipients “shaken, fearful and intimidated” in multiple instances over the last several years.
The conduct, the investigator concluded, was not in line with the school’s rules for workplace behavior.
The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School’s board of trustees voted May 9 to place Head of School Scott Goldman on paid administrative leave for a so-called cooling-off period.
The board then voted two more times to extend the leave while a Wellesley law firm, Sanzone & McCarthy, investigated five complaints filed against Goldman.
“Conduct of this nature is not expected of a Head of School regardless of any momentary frustration or the particular challenges of his position,” John T. McCarthy wrote at the end of a 20-page report obtained by the Gazette through the board of trustees.
Parts of the version the Gazette obtained were redacted to hide identities. The report included summaries of the complaints and summaries of three days’ worth of interviews with members of the PVPA community and Goldman himself.
At its meeting Tuesday, the board voted 11-0 — with member William Decherd abstaining — to accept the findings of the law firm. Decherd had lodged a grievance against Goldman.
The board did not take any other action against Goldman, however, whose tenure as head of school is set to expire Friday, the date he had planned to leave since he announced his departure last year. Goldman, 56, has been head of school since 2011.
Board president Geoffrey Sumi and attorney James C. Donnelly said that means Goldman will continue to be paid through the end of the month and will be able to cash in accrued vacation time.
“The past several weeks have been challenging,” Sumi said at the end of the meeting.
The new head of school, Sumi said, is George Simpson, who currently serves as chief innovation officer for the arts in the Newark, New Jersey, public school system. Simpson starts July 3.
McCarthy summarized two petitions and six grievances made known before and after Goldman was placed on administrative leave.
Two petitions — one signed by 40 employees and another by 19 — claim that he made the 19 employees feel “unsafe” on the job and call for the board to pare back Goldman’s hiring-and-firing powers.
One grievance was filed by Dechard, also a teacher, after he was denied a yearlong leave of absence by administrators.
The investigator focused on five complaints he said alleged that Goldman acted in an “aggressive, intense, confrontational” manner, in conflict with school policies, not the petition or Dechard’s complaint.
One stemmed from a March 13 incident where Goldman called a female teacher into a room for an unscheduled meeting.
McCarthy wrote that a witness who monitored the meeting described a scene of “unchecked rage” by Goldman.
Goldman, in his May 9 speech to the board, said he used an elevated tone but denied “yelling.” In the interview with McCarthy, Goldman said he was “frustrated and irritated.”
The investigator concluded Goldman was justifiably upset with the employee, but that he should have taken a “more measured and professional” approach.
The second was filed May 10 by a PVPA parent who said she had a “rather unpleasant experience” a “few years back.” McCarthy said three people heard or saw parts of the interaction, and he concluded Goldman “engaged in aggressive and loud behavior.”
An unnamed person alerted McCarthy to a third complaint he investigated, filed in June 2016, after tense salary negotiations between Goldman and an unnamed employee. The complainant described a “verbal assault” in which Goldman lashed out when the employee asked for a salary matrix.
Goldman said he felt uncomfortable, because he felt the employee called him a liar. “He does recall feeling upset, but he denies that he was loud, threatening or aggressive,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy wrote that a witness in an interview described both sides bringing “baggage” into the room. McCarthy said there was sufficient evidence to conclude Goldman “engaged in an angry outburst” that was “not justified.”
In a fourth investigated grievance, an employee detailed an incident between a student and Goldman. She said the student — who had a “rough few days” — swore and said she didn’t want to talk to him when Goldman was called to the hallway via handset. The employee said Goldman peered down at the student in a “menacing way” and said “Oh, really? I don’t think so.”
Goldman, in an interview, said the school was on “high alert” after a “near-fight” the day before.
McCarthy said Goldman fell short of expectations, but because of the tense situation, it was “a close call” as to whether he violated school policy.
The fifth complaint examined took aim at Goldman’s May 9 speech to the board of trustees and subsequent release of the speech to the PVPA community.
McCarthy said it was Goldman’s right to rebut critics in public, but “nearly” all those interviewed expressed concern about the “negative” effect its dissemination had on the school, with several saying it felt like a “final act of retaliation and retribution.”
After the meeting, Goldman’s attorney, David Monastersky, said the board’s choice to approve the findings without taking further action was “bizarre.”
He said he received a “highly redacted” version of the report right before the meeting, and couldn’t comment on its merits.
But he did question the motivations of some employees interviewed, noting long-standing feuds between Goldman and some staff members.
The Personnel Advisory Board, which represents a portion of PVPA’s employees in the absence of a union, released a statement after the board meeting, saying staff were eager to move forward.
“Nobody won tonight,” spokewoman Freja Joslin, a middle school teacher, said. “Our community was hurt by the actions of Mr. Goldman. … We love our school and we love our students. Brighter days ahead.”
Jack Suntrup can be reached at jsuntrup@gazettenet.com.