AMHERST — Attorneys for an Amherst Regional Middle School counselor fired for alleged anti-trans actions and making inappropriate comments related to gender and sexual orientation are asking a Hampshire Superior Court judge to uphold an arbitrator’s decision reinstating her to her former position.
Fired in November 2023 for conduct unbecoming a teacher or staff member, the result of an in-depth Title IX investigation involving three educators at the school, Delinda Dykes is scheduled to be back on the job next week, even as the school district is attempting to get a stay on the arbitrator’s July ruling.
In a filing on Monday, a week before Dykes’ expected return, attorneys James A.W. Shaw and Nico J. Marulli of Segal Roitman LLP of Boston ask that a judge reject the district’s emergency motion, filed Aug. 6, observing that the schools have already paid their client $123,010.79 in back pay the arbitrator ruled was owed her.
But the lawyers express concern that the district is creating conditions that would lead to hostility toward Dykes when she returns, including publicizing the arbitrator’s decision in mid-July with a “misleading press release” describing the arbitrator as making a ruling against the district due to procedural errors.
The district has also recounted that Dykes’ termination was prompted by allegedly repeatedly misgendering students, and various other incidents, including one in which she chastised a male colleague for wearing nail polish and another in which she offered dating advice to male students.
In mid-July a rally coordinated by the ad hoc LGBTQIA+ Caucus took place before a Regional School Committee meeting, at which community members outlined their concerns about Dykes’ possible return. That came despite what her attorneys characterize as Dykes having a “strong track record” in education and being “the victim of a longstanding campaign of false statements and rumors.”
“In sum, it is wholly inequitable to allow the district to rely on the hostile environment
that it created to form the basis of its public policy and irreparable injury arguments,” the lawyers write. “On the contrary, the irreparable harm to Ms. Dykes is clear. Not only would she suffer economic and emotional harm, but a court order preventing her from exercising her statutory right to return to school will immeasurably harm her reputation.”
Following her separation from the district, Dykes exercised her legal right to challenge the decision through arbitration, a process afforded employees under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71, Section 42, when they believe they are unjustly dismissed.
The arbitrator ordered the district to: “Rescind the termination of Delinda Dykes, to immediately reinstate her to her position, and to restore all wages and benefits she would have received but for the wrongful termination, less interim earnings.”
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman, in an affidavit to the court Tuesday in support of the motion to stay the arbitrator’s decision, notes both concerns from the community about Dykes’ return, based on feedback she is receiving, and her own worries about the reinstatement, “particularly those identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.”
“As a guidance counselor, Ms. Dykes’ most critical role is to guide students through what can be a difficult developmental period (middle school),” Herman wrote. “A guidance counselor typically plays a critical role in supporting students’ progress, not only in terms of academics, but in terms of social and emotional development. This type of relationship is significantly undermined if parents and students cannot establish trust with the guidance counselor.”
The attorneys for the school district, Marc L. Terry, Hayley M. Cotter and Massiel L. Sanchez, all of Mirick, O’Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP, of Westbrough, argue that a stay will also not cause Dykes economic and emotional harm.
“In short, Ms. Dykes will not suffer any irreparable harm if the requested stay is granted.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
