It’s about honesty and integrity – and the company you keep

~ OPINION ~

  Never in the history of Everett have we witnessed such dishonesty and lack of integrity within its boundaries. At first glance, we witness the city’s oldest newspaper become a tool of vicious lies – journalistic integrity tossed into the gutter, all for power, money and revenge; its pages filled with lies and fabrications in order to destroy a political opponent – all in the name of greed and power.

  For over five years, Everett’s citizenry would endure disgusting words printed on the pages of what used to be the city’s only newspaper – history rewritten and burned to ashes. A city, its eye blackened, falsely and maliciously declared racist by a corrupt publisher and its owner in order to win an election. Joining the gang, a school superintendent, who would use the hateful and corrupt words of the Leader Herald in order to consolidate what little power she could wield in the school system by exploiting students who felt they needed to stand up for an inept tyrant who ran the school department through intimidation and fear.

  Case in point: the recent resignation of the well-respected and winning high school football coach, Rob DiLoreto, whose parents raised a family and established a popular photography business in Everett – that adhered to the traditions of Everett pride. DiLoreto, by all accounts, took over the coaching position and continued the team’s winning ways, its student-athletes playing their hearts out for their coach. Unlike the current leadership on Vine Street, DiLoreto coached and mentored the team into a traditional Everett powerhouse through hard work, sportsmanship and love of the city and its values. Everett’s rich football history is the envy of football programs across the state, if not the country; just like its marching band, cheerleaders and youth leagues.

  But as of late, honesty and integrity have been hard to come by. According to sources, former EHS football standouts, for whom this publisher once purchased a Super Bowl ring and jacket following another state championship, have now become “hall monitors” to keep the fights within the high school walls to a minimum. One of the two brothers, whose names shall remain nameless for now, has been given the blessing of the superintendent to become the next head coach as he has been recruiting students outside the school system to come and play at EHS based on his claim that he will be the new head football coach for Everett High. And recent reports suggest that DiLoreto’s resignation did not go well when the brother who claimed to be the next head coach asked the junior members of the football team to “dress up” in their sport coats and petition the superintendent for a football coaching position.

  Another report had the senior members of the football team, upon hearing about the junior teammates’ actions, voicing their disapproval to the juniors for going behind their backs when they were in full support of Coach DiLoreto.

  It’s truly disturbing how this superintendent creates such division among the district’s administrators, and now, students. It’s no surprise her contract wasn’t renewed despite her sickening attempts to, once again, exploit the students into believing she’s being fired because of the color of her skin. This is the same person, within three and a half years tenure, who has labeled Everett racist thanks to the corrupt lies published in the Leader Herald. Her tenure is marked by the disturbing reports we’ve obtained of violence at the high school over the past two years, thanks to police reports acquired by this newspaper from Everett Police records through the Freedom of Information Act, as many of the former administrators, who kept the peace at the high school through social and educational interaction of former administrators who knew every student’s name, who were forced to either quit or resign through fear and intimidation to make room for outsiders who have proved to be expensive friends of the superintendent.

  In another alarming report, while DiLoreto was coaching in last year’s MIAA football playoffs, he was receiving another death threat by the same student who has been known to the school administration as well as the Everett police for assaulting a female student, and a senior citizen in Glendale Park watching his granddaughter play softball – the same student who was never expelled and still remained at the school, according to the many sources and reports we received.

  In all fairness, we have asked the superintendent for an interview, as well as a copy of her resume so we could approach her to discuss the reports, her plans and goals for the school district. But all we receive is, “She’ll get back to you.” I guess communication was never her strong suit. But we’re still holding out hope.

  We hope that the parents of the Everett public school system take heed and demand answers of the superintendent as to why their children’s test scores are below the state average, or why there are “hall monitors” to keep the fights from breaking out; and why there are violent students roaming the halls at the high school. It’s about honest and integrity at Everett schools – at least it used to be.