AMHERST — A member of the Amherst School Committee is asking town and school officials in Amherst and Pelham to publicly comment on a stay-away order issued to the parent of a Pelham Elementary School student.
And the Amherst-Pelham Regional School superintendent has addressed the issue in a new statement.
In a letter sent by email Wednesday, Vira Douangmany Cage describes a “crisis” in the community as a result of the stay-away order given to Aisha Hiza, a Chicopee resident and the mother of a first-grader in Pelham. Douangmany Cage said the fact that no officials have spoken publicly about the matter undermines Amherst’s display of a Black Lives Matter banner.
“In this case, silence is an endorsement,” Douangmany Cage writes. If “you have something different to say, you must speak up, at least let the public know you are seeking legal counsel or under legal advisement.”
The order was issued by Superintendent Maria Geryk March 15 following recommendations from police in both Amherst and Pelham.
A formal response to Douangmany Cage’s letter could come from the Amherst Select Board at its meeting Monday.
Members said at a board meeting Wednesday that just because they have not commented on the topic does not mean they support or oppose the superintendent’s decision — or that they do not have opinions about it.
“Silence is not ignoring,” said Chairwoman Alisa Brewer, who acknowledged tensions in the community as a result of the order.
“Addressing silence does not mean in this case being insensitive to social issues in general, or what’s implied here,” said board member Constance Kruger.
Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager, told the Select Board he will draft a letter for the board that it could release as a statement next week.
Hechenbleikner said the board is not aware of all circumstances regarding the stay-away order. Just because the order was issued against a parent who is black, he said, “doesn’t mean social injustice is being done.”
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.
Geryk explained in a recent statement that numerous meetings were held beginning in the fall with a parent to address concerns in the school. Hiza was not identified in the superintendent’s statement.
“For almost five months this process appeared to be effective based on the input shared by the parents as expressed orally and in emails,” Geryk wrote.
But this changed in March, with behaviors from the parent that “raised safety and security concerns,” she added.
“Law enforcement officials reviewed the situation in late March. With their knowledge of information not available to school staff or the public, as well as their expertise, the police determined that the safety concerns were credible and a stay-away order was recommended,” Geryk said.
Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone confirmed that a member of his department met with school staff and with Pelham Police Chief Gary Thomann. They were made aware of the security concerns.
The stay-away order was later modified to allow the parent to drop off and pick up her child.
“The implementation of the stay-away order was done to address the immediate safety concerns,” Geryk said in the statement. “School and district administrators would take the same action no matter the race, background, or financial circumstances of any family. The district would be remiss if it did not take the action recommended by the police when confronted with safety concerns.”
Geryk said her decision to comment now came out of concern from some in the community that racism was a factor in the actions and that “remaining silent has led to unfounded suppositions and assumptions because of the lack of factual information.”
Amherst Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said he is troubled that Douangmany Cage would make an issue of the decision by Amherst and Pelham officials to remain quiet, and that there are legal reasons to not venture into this territory.
“As a lawyer, I would say that,” Steinberg said.
Efforts to reach Pelham officials Thursday were unsuccessful.
Douangmany Cage is also one of six candidates seeking the 3rd Hampshire District state representative seat now held by Ellen Story, who is not seeking re-election. The district is made up of Amherst, Pelham and Precinct 1 of Granby.
In early May, Geryk declined to comment on the issue, citing confidentiality requirements, though an attorney representing the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents responded on her behalf.
“Ms. Geryk would be pleased to release the details leading up to the issuance of the stay-away order,” wrote attorney Michael J. Long in a letter emailed to the Gazette at the time. “But, as the details relate to a student and a parent, the superintendent will only do so when the parent signs a written release authorizing her to publicize all background materials.”
At that time, Hiza said her attorney advised her not to sign the release.
The stay-away order has previously been addressed by the Amherst chapter of the NAACP and is also being discussed by the School Equity Task Force.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
