The following statement was read at the ABRSD School Committee Meeting on April 7, 2022.
By Marty Benson
It is now clear that the recent Mascot Survey study was faulty and manipulated from the top. The process needs to be redone over and include the “Colonial” as an option for the School District’s Mascot. There is nothing in the District’s Naming Policy that would prohibit this.
Further, in the best interest of the School District, Peter Light needs to step down from the Mascot Naming Committee and have no further involvement in it. Over the last two years he has behaved in a manner unbecoming of a Superintendent. Some examples of his behavior include the following,
1) Not allowing students supporting the Colonial Mascot to present to the School Committee.
2) Telling members of ABSEJ that all they had to do was make a speech before the School Committee and then the School Committee would take care of the rest.
3) Having text message communications with Acton Town Manager John Mangeratti in which these two District and Town employees discussed trying to prevent the Acton Selectboard from adding an item to their agenda to discuss the mascot retirement.
4) There were multiple troubling and concerning reports of Mr. Light abusing his position of power and privilege by harassing and intimidating District employees who were supportive of the retention of the Colonial Mascot.
5) At the October 15, 2020 School Committee meeting, Mr. Light falsified the District’s Facility Naming Policy to both the School Committee and the community.
6) Records requests show that following the December 17, 2020 Zoom bombing the Superintendent orchestrated a PR campaign seeking to link the Colonial Mascot supporters to the incident despite there being no evidence of their connection. This effort included the issuing of erroneous public statements, production of a propaganda video, and communications with AB United Way Chair Griet Dehandschutter and Acton Select board member David Martin to coordinate the issuing of erroneous statements. None of these individuals ever apologized when it was determined that the Zoom bomber was a juvenile in Arizona with no connection to the AB community.
7) Refusal to comply with Public Records Law. We can now prove that Mr. Light has been untruthful to the Secretary of State’s office on three separate occasions. In a recent order the Secretary of State warned the School District that fines can be imposed for their noncompliance.
And 8) As Chair of the Mascot Naming Committee he has not ethically applied the District’s Facilities Naming policy.
The Colonial mascot is a sacred symbol to many residents of our two towns. Mr. Light is not from nor a resident of either town. Nonetheless, since the summer of 2020 he has made it his mission to remove the Mascot in complete disregard of rules, process, and lack of desire from the community. Given Mr. Light’s behavior we demand his immediate removal from the Mascot naming Committee.
It’s imperative that the School Committee finally acknowledge not just their error but the hurt and division they have caused in the community. If the School Committee still feels it’s necessary to rename the mascot then they should restart the process consistent with the District’s Facilities Naming Policy, in the same manner in which the School Committee is now approaching the naming of the High School Natatorium.
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Light should be fired from his job as superintendent, not just this committee. He is incompetent.
The best way to resolve this is to form a separate committee totally unconnected with the AB school system. To be fair, it should be made up of a group with as much diversity as possible. They should be the ones to re-pole the townspeople both adults and students and then present the finding to the the school committee. All of this needs to be as transparent as possible.
Another ethical lapse in the process – I read that the mother of one of the student activists was Chair of the School Committee. If so, it sounds like a conflict of interest to me.
You deserve the government you elect!
Stop complaining, elect a different school board and replace the superintendent
Sounds like the elite leaders in the towns are also the “woke” leadership. Having grown up in a family where my father was very involved with volunteering and or appointed to various boards and committees and I also served on youth and recreation committees as well as being a co-founder of the Acton Twilight Softball league and a founder of the Acton men’s basketball league. There were elitists back then who thought only they knew what was right. On one occasion I brought it out of the shadows a town employee who had failed state license exams but was still doing the job and using a relatives rubber stamp to approve plans. I was physically approached by the individual and threatened with physical damage from the baseball bat he was carrying. Went to local paper editor and asked if they knew of the unlicensed employee and the proverbial crap hit the fan. But the highway and water dept employees knew the situation and one selectman took an interest and problem was eventually fixed. I can remember defending a HS principal who was being proverbial tarred and feathered because of his discipline style. I went to school committee meetings and spoke in his defense. One cure is the ballot box and hopefully a strong voter turnout by the hall of fame groups and the athletic support groups to get slightly more conservative folks on school committee and for them to push for unbiased school leaders in principles and superintendent.