Dewing PAC Chair: The E-Mail Was My Fault

The chairperson of the _ says she is to blame for a controversial e-mail that was sent to Dewing and North Street School parents as an attachment to the Dewing/North Street PAC Newsletter.

The email included information from the Friends Of the Tewksbury Community Athletic Complex regarding its proposal for expanded stadium project, which includes lights, artificial turf and a five-court tennis complex.

However, it also included the following cover letter from the FTCAC:

"Two years ago, a record number of residents attended Town Meeting and voted at the subsequent Special Election to approve our new High School. For those of you who haven’t been able to see the progress, please visit: . As you can see from those pictures, our residents have invested in an incredible science lab for our students and committed to the arts with exceptional auditorium facilities where we can host recitals and plays for our town. An area that was sacrificed because it wasn’t reimbursable by the state was the athletic facility.

A “YES” vote on Question 1 will put us on track toward enhancing the new TMHS athletic facility with:
· An electronic scoreboard
· Five tennis courts
· Artificial “Field Turf” field
· Increased seating capacity for our growing community
· Lighting that will allow for evening practices and games

I hope you see this as an investment in the future of our community and agree that these amenities at our new High School are worth the extra $20/year per household. We are respectfully asking that you please make your voice heard and vote “YES” on Question 1 this Saturday, April 14th.

Thank you very much for your continued support of Tewksbury, our students and our community!"

The letter was signed by Brian H. Dick, president, Lee Anne Petherbridge, secretary and  Paul Hibner, treasurer of the FTCAC.

Question 1, which asked voters to approve a $1.9 million debt exlusion to pay for the project, _However, the forwarded e-mail and the cover letter, in particular, raised the ire of some parents and other opponents of Question 1. Several commenters on Tewksbury Patch said they believes the PAC had violated Tewksbury School District Policy and possibly state ethics laws by promoting a political agenda.

Carolyn Gaglione, chairman of the Dewing PAC, said it was her decision to send the email but that it was intended as merely a reminder that the election was coming up and was not intended to endorse one side or the other in the election.

"I truly did not mean to make anyone upset by sending the reminder to vote on Saturday," she said. "Maybe we should not have included the cover letter and just the information, I apologize to everyone that I offended in doing this. I also want to make it clear that the FOTCAC did not contact us to do this. I did this on my own."

Superintendent of Schools Dr. John O'Connor said that he had made clear to all of the districts PACs that could not send home information of any kind promoting any political position to parents.

"Had they asked me about this e-mail beforehand I would have advised them not to send it," he said.

Gaglione, in her first year as PAC chairperson, said she misunderstood O'Connor's directive and had felt that the voter information and reminder in e-mail form was allowed.

"Dr. O'Connor had told us that it could not go out in backpacks but emails were ok, I went on that information," she said. "As a new PAC Chair this year ... I have learned from this mistake and will not let this happen again.  I hope that the parents at the Dewing School continue supporting the work of the Dewing PAC."

O'Connor said he spoke with the school district's attorney and believes the district has not violated any state laws. He said neither school personnel, nor school equipment was used in the sending of the e-mail.

"I think we are in an OK position, legally," he said.

Meredith Fahey, co-chair of the _ said she felt some of the comments be made against the PACs regarding the email were over-the-top, considering the positive work the PACs do for the schools and the students.

"The fact that we sent an e-mail to serve as a reminder to vote and provide information about question one is being construed as inappropriate is, in many ways, taking things too far," she said. "The emails in question came from an individual group not from the schools nor were they sent from any official school site."

"We did not mean to offend anyone by sending the email with the attachment, also we were not asked to do so either by a group or individual - it was a decision made by the 2 PAC boards independently," added Fahey.