PELHAM — The mother of a Pelham Elementary School first-grader was notified May 31, through a notarized letter from Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools Superintendent Maria Geryk, that a stay-away order issued against her in March was being lifted the following day, Geryk said in an email to the Gazette on Wednesday.
The notarized letter, Geryk said, was hand-delivered to Aisha Hiza of Chicopee the day after Memorial Day, in advance of a conversation with Pelham Principal Lisa Desjarlais and Paul Wiley, ombudsman for the schools, on June 1.
In response, Hiza, who has continued to speak and act in recent days as if the order remained in effect, said she does not trust school officials.
In the email, Geryk said the parent, whom she does not identify by name, was made aware more than a week ago that the stay-away order would no longer be in effect.
“At the end of that meeting, the parent was handed a notarized letter from me informing her that the stay-away order was lifted in its entirety, as of June 1, based on that facilitated meeting,” Geryk said.
That same day, Geryk said, she also informed Tara Luce, chairwoman of the Pelham School Committee; Trevor Baptiste, chairman of the Regional School Committee; and Katherine Appy, chairwoman of the Amherst School Committee, that the order would be expiring.
Hiza was at Monday’s Select Board meeting, which was attended also by Amherst School Committee member Vira Douangmany Cage and nearly a dozen other supporters who expressed concern that that there had been no community conversation about the the stay-away order and that racism might be involved.
Hiza, who has raised concerns with school officials that her 7-year-old daughter has been the target of racially tinged bullying, says she does not know why the order was issued. Geryk has said the behavior of the parent in question raised safety and security concerns.
Hiza claimed that she didn’t sign for Geryk’s letter, which was notarized by Theresa Ominsky, director of the Amherst-Pelham Education Association. Hiza also said she was spoken to that same day by Faye Brady, director of student services, in a way that made it seem the stay-away order was still in effect.
“I have continued to act as if the stay-away order is still in place, even when it has come to picking up and dropping off my daughter, because I was waiting for Maria Geryk to make a statement,” Hiza said.
Hiza said she feels that she still has not gotten answers as to why the order was issued — and why it ended.
“I am very disgusted that everyone is passing the blame to the next person,” Hiza said.
Geryk’s comments on the stay-away order come after both Amherst and Pelham officials were asked by Douangmany Cage, in a June 1 email, to speak out on what she saw as a social justice issue and crisis in the community that was undermining the town’s display of a Black Lives Matter banner earlier this year.
“In this case, silence is an endorsement,” Douangmany Cage wrote. “If you have something different to say, you must speak up, (or) at least let the public know you are seeking legal counsel or under legal advisement.”
The Amherst Select Board discussed the contents of a letter drafted by Peter Hechenbleikner, interim town manager, that it could issue in response to Douangmany Cage. No statement, though, has yet been released by the board. That is expected to come next week.
Recognizing that town officials want to respond to the community, Geryk on Tuesday sent an email to the Amherst Select Board and Human Rights Commission informing them that on March 29 “the parent was asked to engage in a process toward restoring the relationship with the Pelham principal. In late May, the parent agreed to engage in a facilitated conversation with the principal, which occurred last Wednesday, June 1, 2016, after which the order was immediately lifted.”
Geryk said this is part of the process of getting back to normal.
“The facilitated meeting of June 1 was the first step in this process,” Geryk said. “The parent and Pelham principal are continuing to receive facilitated support as they move forward.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
