Spicer Campaign Comments On School Statement

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Yvonne Spicer's mayoral campaign issued a statement late Thursday after being cleared earlier in the day of an alleged school violation. The statement in full is below.

Framingham School Superintendent Robert Tremblay issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying Spicer campaign volunteers' presence at Framingham High, which the campaign says was an effort to welcome back and thank teachers, was not in violation of school code. Officials had previously said they believed it to be a violation following an article in The Framingham Source, a local news site run by a former Patch editor, which stated a policy may have been violated.

Read the full statement from the Spicer campaign:

The Yvonne Spicer for Framingham Mayor campaign was wrongfully accused of violating a school policy earlier this week. Campaign volunteers at Framingham High School greeted teachers with Spicer signs that said “Thank You” as they arrived for a welcome back day. School was not in session. Editor Susan Petroni published an article in The Framingham Source stating that school committee policy KHB “may” have been violated. In response to Petroni’s inquiry Framingham School Superintendent Robert Tremblay and School Committee Chair Heather said they interpreted the activity as a violation of that policy.

After follow up with legal counsel the Superintendent issued a statement. Included in his remarks, Framingham School Superintendent Tremblay said “I no longer maintain that such campaign activity expressly violated any specific school committee policy;”

Yvonne Spicer said “Knowing that school was not in session and teachers were arriving, the intention was to greet them as they begin the new school year with a welcoming message of gratitude for the jobs they do. As a former teacher and department head, I understand first- hand the impact of their work.” Additionally, she added, “it’s critical for officials to ensure that the public is not misled by doing the necessary research before responding to allegations of wrongdoing. I thank Dr. Tremblay for his follow up.”

Dr. Yvonne Spicer began her career as a teacher in Framingham, later became a department head and then Director of Career and Technical Education in the Newton Public Schools. She is currently the Vice President of Advocacy and Educational Partnerships for the Museum of Science, Boston. She was appointed by Governors Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker to serve on the MA STEM Council and she served as a content expert to the National Governors Association (NGA) based in Washington, DC. Former MA State Treasurer Steve Grossman and State Treasurer Deb Goldberg both appointed her to serve on the Board of the Massachusetts Economic Empowerment Trust.

For more information visit www.yvonnespicerformayor.com Framingham will hold a preliminary election September 26th and a general election November 7th. The town adopted a charter to become a city which will become effective in January, 2018.