School Committee addresses alleged misconduct in Executive Session

Local resident barred from school board meetings, school property

By Neil Zolot

The School Committee ended this week’s meeting (Monday, May 6) with an Executive Session to discuss accusations of misconduct by Ward 4’s Robin Babcock. It was to “discuss complaints or charges brought against a public officer, employee, staff member or individuals, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws to wit: School Committee member Robin Babcock.”

She is alleged to have been involved in a physical altercation. “Allegations were made and we are obligated to investigate,” Ward 3 member and Committee Chairperson Jeanne Cristiano said.

“If a member has an allegation against them, an inquiry is made,” Superintendent William Hart added.

Member At-Large and Vice Chairperson Samantha Lambert told Babcock, “I commit to giving you the presumption of innocence and privacy we give to all staff.”

Lambert noted that Babcock’s name was used in the agenda item, unlike previous such instances. “No names should have been used,” she stated.

“We didn’t do that before, but we’ve been subject to accusations of Open Meeting Law violations,” Cristiano responded. “This was handled by our attorney and I relied on that for the language. One shouldn’t demand transparency in one area, but not another.”

The outcome of the investigation may affect Babcock’s role on the School Committee.

Resident Paula Sterite on Monday was officially banned from attending any future meetings on Everett School property when it was determined she directed a high school student to take a picture of a school employee speaking to a student while another student stood nearby without parental permission, so it could be published on a social media site that’s known to intimidate city and school officials. The social media site, Everett Reporter, which is run by a convicted felon known as Anthony Raymond, is associated with Sterite, John Puopolo and Reading resident Sandra Juliano, who attend meetings of the School Committee and City Council, offering nothing but false accusations and disruption against the mayor and members of city government. Both Raymond – who wears an electronic bracelet and is currently barred from attending any meetings at City Hall and Everett High School due to a lawsuit filed against him in Middlesex Superior Court by three City Hall employees – and Sterite, who was served by Everett Police on Monday, may be facing further criminal action due to the egregiousness of their recent actions of posting a high school student’s photos on a social media site.

“We’ve had to take legal action with a no trespass order against the resident,” said Cristiano, referring to Sterite. “If this doesn’t cross a line, what does? To Public Commenters, I remind you, you are afforded miles of leeway in our meetings, but these proceedings have been corrupted by a small group of residents who jeer and snicker. I ask all of my colleagues to implore people to stop putting students in the middle of this nastiness. Can you say with sincerity an impartial resident would find this a pleasant place to be?”

In other business, the members accepted the Fiscal 2025 budget of $130,707,416 plus $4,600,000 for Special Education Transportation and chargebacks to the city of $32,749,540 for administrative and retirement expenses. The budget retains positions formerly funded with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) aid allocated during the pandemic, new administrators and $63,978 for Translation and Interpretation for School Committee and other meetings.

“As someone who speaks English as a second language, I’m glad we have that,” Ward 5 School Committee Member Marcony Almeida-Barros said of the transition element. “I’m also happy we’re not laying anybody off and keeping positions previously funded by ESSER.”

Nevertheless, he expressed concerns about additions to the administrative staff. “I advise the Superintendent to use caution in hiring,” he said. “I know we need some of these positions now, but we need to see the trajectory of what happens with the state budget.”

“I’m trying to restore positions that will support the work we do, but will walk carefully on this,” Hart answered. “I also care about fiscal responsibility.”

After the meeting he said positions were retained though funds from other grants. “We apply for every grant we can,” he said. “Being a Gateway City, an economically challenged city that once served as a gateway to prosperity for working class and immigrant families, we’re eligible for grants other communities aren’t.”

In Public Comment, Everett Teachers Association President Kimberly Auger, School Administrative Assistant Rose Holt and Music Director Eugene O’Brien spoke in favor of the budget.

O’Brien was also present when the School Committee acknowledged the Winter Color Guard for their win at the New England Scholastic Band Association Winter Color Guard Championships in Salem.

The Percussion Ensemble finished 9th and were voted the Audience Favorite Award in a recent competition in Dayton, Ohio.

In other items, the members approved resolutions by Lambert for a School Building Committee to be formed for the current proposals for a new High School and to include designated members of the School Committee, City Council, School Department and City administrations, and for the City Council to include the School Committee and School Department administration in open discussions about school space, including development of a comprehensive study of all city-owned buildings through a joint working commission. “I believe in collaboration,” she said, echoing comments she made at a meeting on February 27.

Everett is one of the very few school systems with kindergarten to 8th grade neighborhood schools, although at one time the Parlin School was a Junior High. The 2019 closure of Pope John XXIII High School – now owned by the City and slated for housing – and the age of the old public High School, which is now being used for preschool and other programs, prompted the building of the current High School in 2007 and eventually led to K-8 neighborhood schools, but the current High School is overcrowded.

Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s long-term plan is to build a new High School at Rivergreen Park, complete with a vocational program, and presumably convert the current High School into a Middle School. The funding, approval and building process could take years, if it happens at all. But the City has applied to the state School Building Authority to proceed.