Move to Oust Attleboro School Committee Chairman Ends Abruptly

A special meeting of the Attleboro School Committee ended abruptly before discussion on its lone agenda item could take place. The meeting was called to discuss the competence of Chairman Ray DiCiaccio and his “ability to continue in their position and if necessary, removal and replacement of that individual in that position.”

The special session was held at the request of three committee members, Jim Stors, Teri Enegren and Brenda Furtado.

Furtado said she had previously tried to discuss her concerns with DiCiaccio over the phone and in person.

“I don’t have confidence in our chairman,”  Furtado said. “Ray seems to think he’s the chair and that he gets to make decisions without the committee.”

Stors said he was surprised by the early adjournment and was one of two members to vote against adjournment. “I thought we’d have a good discussion,” he said. 

The meeting began with Stors requesting DiCiaccio to remove himself as chair for this meeting as he was “emotionally invested” in the topic of discussion. DiCiaccio refused.

“I think there are a lot of people that are emotionally invested tonight, not just me,” DiCiaccio said. He also noted that he spoke with the committee’s legal counsel and the counsel said that he was under no obligation to remove himself as chair.

Stors also sought to move the meeting to executive session citing the first reason for the use of executive session under Massachusetts open meeting laws, which allow for a closed session “To discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health rather than the professional competence of an individual.”

“There are things that we have to talk about that from this discussion that fall under reason number one for executive session,” Stors said referring to issues of character that may be brought up.

“The word ‘character’ is not on the agenda nor is it on the request for the special meeting; both say competence,” DiCiaccio said.

Enegren said that she felt uncomfortable discussing the issues in the open meeting without the benefit of guidance from the committee’s legal counsel, which she said was denied to her by DiCiaccio, as discussions with their legal advisor must go through the chairman beforehand.

“I feel that because this was related to you that I didn’t get access,” Enegren said.

When committee member Michael Levison stated that the policy discussion was getting the committee nowhere, Stors began to discuss the issue of DiCiaccio’s competence. DiCiaccio then stopped Stors and said there was need for a motion to move to discussion.

Instead, what followed was motion for adjournment, which was voted in favor by all except Robert Hill and Stors.

Hill called the meeting “bizarre” and said he believed that the members who requested the meeting were hoping to have discussion in executive session, rather than in an open meeting, and described the end result as “a broken play.”

“I’m really hoping this isn’t brought up again,” Hill said. 

When asked about the possibility of the issue being raised again, Enegren said it was “Gone, but not forgotten.”

DiCiaccio attributed the early adjournment to a workshop the members had been at prior to the meeting and said that it may have resolved some of the issues between members.

“We really need to spend our energy working together, not working against each other,” DiCiaccio said. “The Attleboro citizens don’t want to see the school committee discussing these kinds of things. They want to see us focusing on the schools and the kids.”

When the remarks about him making decisions unilaterally and without the rest of the committee were brought up, DiCiaccio responded “I don’t know what they’re talking about.”