Dupere Law Offices 94 North Elm Street, Suite 307 Westfield, Massachusetts 01085 Tel: (413) 562-3300 Fax: (413) 562-3301 Femand J. Dupere, Esq. Russell J. Dupere, Esq. Adam J. Dupere, Esq. Kimberly M. Roche, Esq. July 28, 2020 Tammy Daniels 102 Main Street North Adams, MA 01247 RE: Open Meeting Law Complaint Against the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Dear Ms. Daniels: 1am writing as legal counsel for the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee regarding your complaint of an open meeting law violation by the School Committee. In your complaint dated July 13, 2020 you allege that School Committee member Al Terranova violated the Open Meeting Law when he “stated that the committee had previously “decided” in its last meeting to hire an interim superintendent with an eye towards running a full search process for a permanent superintendent in 2021. No one corrected him on that point.” no such decisions ever discussed in open You allege this statement was a violation because “ session, the only reasonable conclusion is that Terranova was referring to the committee’s July 1, 2020, executive session” which was an executive session “to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union personnel (Superintendent)” and that deliberations at the July 1, 2020 executive session “must have strayed into territory not covered by the stated exception to the Open Meeting Law”. Finally, itis stated that the reason stated for the selection of a short-term interim superintendent being “on medical leave” was an intentional falsehood,In response to these allegations, the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee recognizes how Ms. Daniels may have reached her conclusion, ‘The School Committee asserts that Al Terranova misspoke when he may have stated that a decision was made by the School Committee with regard to the decision to select a particular short-term interim superintendent, or a full search process for a permanent superintendent. The Committce acknowledges that in response to the statement attributed to Mr. Terranova, it would have been helpful to observers if the Committee had clarified that Mr. Terranova’ statement was not accurate, as no such decision or decisions had been made by the Committee. With regard to the discussions that took place in the July 1, 2020 executive session, the Committee asserts that their discussions were within the stated purpose of the executive session, ‘The parties were engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Superintendent Kimberley Grady. A change in circumstances was leamed by the Chair regarding Ms, Grady which directly impacted the negotiation process. The Committee was informed generally that there was an unanticipated change in circumstances that impacted negotiations, but no detail was provided with respect to the circumstances. The Chair informed Committee members that she had scheduled a meeting on July 6, 2020 to discuss name(s) of a potential interim superintendent. No deliberation or decisions were made by committee members with regard to Ms. Conry’s announcement. On July 6, 2020 a meeting was properly posted and a candidate was brought forward by the Chair, that of Robert Putnam. At no point previously had this individual been discussed with other members of the School Committee. The Committee also disputes the claim that it engaged in an intentional falsehood on July 6, 2020 regarding a statement regarding the status of the ‘Superintendent being on medical leave. Without getting into detail regarding the underlying medical condition/event (for privacy concems), the superintendent was out on medical leave and it was clear that she would not be available to carry out the duties of the superintendent for anextended period of time, This coupled with the pending departure of the assistant superintendent three days later created an emergency need to appoint an individual to fulfill the day-to-day functions of the Superintendent, For the reasons detailed above, itis the Committee’s contention that the Office of Attorney General should not take the actions requested by Ms. Daniels in the complaint. Sincerely, Cider Dyer ‘Adam J. Dupere, Esq. cc: Robert Putnam, Interim Superintendent Christina Conry, Chair of the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Office of the Attorney General