Four years ago, today, I decided to run for school committee for the second time (I lost by like 50 votes the first time). I believed in our district and, more importantly, in our town and it’s potential. Almost immediately after being sworn into office the spread of a virus took center stage in every aspect of life and disrupted everything, including and especially the education of our students.
As you can imagine, this was a very difficult time to a) work in the facilities department of a school district and b) serve on a school board, especially once we shut down…and I was in both positions.
The “COVID phase” of my service on the school committee taught me a lot about the people in this town. For good, for bad and otherwise, I saw this town in a far more clear light. Despite the very real safety obstacles and the, at times, hyperbolic public discourse, we pushed ahead and reopened schools after what was clearly far too long of a period of isolation for many of our students. After getting kids back into our schools, there was a period where I actually believed that we were doing important work and that we as a community had started to forge ahead in a positive direction. That feeling did not last long for me.
Negotiations had started with multiple unions representing the broad swath of people employed in our district. My task was to negotiate with the UFCW, the union representing our food service workers. Around the same time, the first round of negotiations with our teachers began. The major talking point in our community was the income of para educators and increasing their salaries, which I believed was the right thing to do. What started as a clearly logical perspective started to spiral out of the realm of reality and the worst part for me was, I understood how and why. I saw and heard a lot about raising the income of the “lowest paid” workers in our district while the people I was negotiating with were trying to get their salaries above the pending minimum wage increase. Their pay scale, at that time, was about $3 an hour under the pending state minimum wage increase. No one was talking about them, at all. A hot button issue for the workers in my department was getting reimbursed for shoes (which are a seriously important part of maintenance and custodial work) but the public conversation didn’t include those people. They were invisible and so was their cause.
At the start of the next election cycle, I was certain that I was done serving on the school committee. It was the folks who felt like no one would speak for them who convinced me to run again. I did and I won the right to continue to serve on the school committee and even was elected to chair the regional school committee.
I’m going to refrain from reliving every last moment where my humility was challenged and where I had to remind myself that my faith in humanity was nonnegotiable. I will say that I was able to see this town in HD realness… I am not now nor was I naive when I moved here. I have always understood that the folks who feel the need to tell you that they’re your allies the most are the ones you need to watch the most and that Amherst was not immune to this phenomenon. I’ve even shared, jokingly, the story about how when I ran the first time, I knocked on the door of a house with a Black Lives Matter sign on the lawn, as the only black candidate for any public office (look it up, 100 percent true story) and was told (because we were on the opposite side of an issue that had nothing to do with school committee) to get the f@%k off of their lawn… Like, I saw the humor and also wasn’t shocked by it. I recall telling this story to someone who said that it shouldn’t have happened here because “we are better than that.” Realistically, we are no better than anyone else and not enough people here are honest enough with themselves to admit that.
When the most recent controversy broke at the middle school (reminder: the previous year’s controversial activity was mostly located in that same building) I watched to see if folks would believe that we were truly “better than this” or if we would all do some soul searching. Were we going to address all of the cultural issues playing out in that building? If so, we could probably start to unpack a great deal of what I (and pretty much anyone on the outside looking in) have seen as our biggest problem: this town believes it’s own hype and that, in and of itself, is why we will never actually become the “woketopia” we sell ourselves as. In other words, we aren’t woke, we’re sleep walking and calling it reality.
At the end of the school year, I started to think about where I have been most successful at maintaining my hope and faith in humanity. It turns out that actually interacting with the kids, that adults in our community like to use as fodder for their various beefs with each other, actually was far more fulfilling than any of my public service had been. The single greatest thing I did on school committee was giving a two minute speech before certifying the ARHS graduation and I already had the privilege of interacting with young folks on a day to day basis. I can’t count how many times our students have allowed me to be a bright light in their life and can’t begin to quantify how meaningful that has been for me.
I have had many endings throughout my life and most, if not all, have had some degree of sadness attached to them. Perhaps it’s a matter of age and experience or maybe it’s the details of this experience, but walking away from service to this town has not saddened me at all. I resigned from the Human Rights Commission last month and have been waiting to feel a sense of loss, but it hasn’t come yet. When I decided to end my service on the Amherst School Committee and on the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, I dug deep down to the bottom of my heart…and I felt nothing (if you get the reference, you get cool points lol). Seriously though, I don’t feel any sense of loss or sorrow, I feel joy in letting it all go.
As of August 21, 2023, I am no longer a member of the Amherst School Committee or the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee… and I could not be happier about that fact.
Deuces,
Ben
Ben Herrington, Amherst School Committee
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Ben Herrington is…
The Union #26 and Regional School Committees and Mike Morris have reached a mutual agreement to part ways, ending Dr. Morris' seven year tenure in the role of Superintendent. This change in leadership is not due to any wrongdoing on Mike's part.
The last seven years have seen many successes in our three school districts, such as the creation of the Caminantes Dual Language Program and success of the current School Building Project in the Amherst Public Schools; the stabilization of a dire budget situation and increased student enrollment in Pelham; the effective change in start times to align with research for Regional School students; and increased diversity of staff across all districts.
The Committees wish him well in the future. Mike appreciates the support he has received from the Committees and the many staff and community members who have reached out to him over the past several months. He will remain available to assist the district in any way requested by his successor.
Dr. Morris has agreed to continue to run the day-to-day operation of the districts through the end of the month to provide the School Committees sufficient time to select a successor and to ensure a smooth transition.
TO: ARPS Community
FROM: Regional School Committee
We are pleased to report that after nearly 18 months of bargaining, we have reached a tentative agreement with the APEA, pending ratification. For the detailed salary and wage grids included in our tentative agreement, click here: https://rebrand.ly/CompGrids
A: Comunidad ARPS
DE: Comité Escolar Regional
Nos complace informar que después de casi 18 meses de negociación, hemos llegado a un acuerdo tentativo con la APEA, pendiente de ratificación. Para ver las tablas salariales detalladas incluidas en nuestro acuerdo provisional, haga clic aquí: https://rebrand.ly/CompGrids
PARA: Comunidade ARPS
DE: Comité Escolar Regional
Temos o prazer de informar que, após quase 18 meses de negociação, chegámos a um acordo provisório com a APEA, que aguarda ratificação. Para obter as grelhas salariais detalhadas incluídas no nosso acordo provisório, clique aqui: https://rebrand.ly/CompGrids
05/19/2023
Search for an interim superintendent continues in Amherst Another emergency meeting by the The Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee took place Thursday night, to make a final decision on who will fill the position of interim superintendent.
There have been several allegations made regarding unacceptable interactions with students who identify as being somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum not just with other students but also with some of the adults entrusted with the care and wellbeing of these students. While investigations are on-going, I will refrain from discussing the specifics of any of these matters or the individuals they center around. I will, however, take this moment to address the treatment of our LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families within our regional school community.
The individuality of each and every last one of our students absolutely must be held as sacred. Apparently, that isn’t always the case in our schools. The intent may be there for some, but in listening to several students, caregivers and staff members, I believe that we are absolutely not doing our best in terms of validating the self-identity of some of our students and that is just flat out not acceptable. Harm caused in these formative years reverberates throughout the lifetimes of our students and so we bear a great deal of responsibility to protect the emotional wellbeing of every last student that we are obligated to educate. We not only can do better, but if we consider ourselves to be worthy of the endeavor of fostering such values as multiculturalism and social justice then we have no choice but to do better.
If, through thorough and unbiased investigation, we find that there have been members of our educational community that have caused emotional harm to our students or that they just plain failed to protect them from cruelty, then the consequences ought to at least be as severe as the transgression. Additionally, we need to carefully review our safeguards in order to proactively prevent emotional damage to those who exist within the most vulnerable populations in our school communities. It’s clear that we need a way for people to communicate issues without fear of compromising themselves and being left open for reprisal. More importantly, we need to do the difficult work of healing, most importantly that means showing up to help any and all affected students. Some of them have been impacted deeply and we cannot lose sight of that. If we are going to say that we are better than this then we need to commit, fully, to BEING better than this. It can’t just be theater. Words are simply not enough.
Like Maya Angelou said “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
To those who harbor feelings of ill intent towards any of our children, simply for being born as they are and recognizing who they are, you are not welcome here. I want you to understand in very clear and direct terms that hate has no home in the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools. As they say, what happens in the darkness always comes to light.
To those who have been affected directly, I want you to know that you have allies and in me, you have a comrade who is willing to fight, not just for you but right by your side. If anyone has not yet found a safe haven to talk about any incidents related to homophobia or transphobia or other maltreatment, I am here for you as are some other folks you can trust. You are not alone. More importantly, you are valid, you are valued, and you are loved.
05/16/2023
I would like to take a moment to correct this inaccuracy. We ARE NOT deciding who will be acting superintendent in executive session, that conversation is going to be public. The agenda is public on Boarddocs (agenda in comments) and the Temporary Superintendent Appointment is item E. in the meeting opening section. This meeting will be followed by a Regional School Committee Meeting.
05/03/2023
Amherst voters speak: 82% say ‘yes’ to funding new elementary school AMHERST — By an overwhelming margin, town voters turned out in force Tuesday night to give their blessing to a $97.5 new elementary school to replace the aging Wildwood and Fort River schools. More than six years after a previous elementary school...
05/02/2023
Vote Yes today!!!
Vote Yes for Amherst Schools on May 2 This video shows:1) why Amherst needs a new elementary school, 2) what will happen if we don't vote Yes, and 3) what's exciting about the new school
04/12/2023
Vote Yes for Amherst Schools on May 2 This video shows:1) why Amherst needs a new elementary school, 2) what will happen if we don't vote Yes, and 3) what's exciting about the new school
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