'Anonymous Teachers' to School Committee: Investigate Environment

An anonymous "Open Letter to the Lexington School Committee" made the rounds at today, June 8. 

A school source told Lexington Patch the high school was abuzz after the teachers all received copies of the letter, reportedly written by "teachers at the high school and three Lexington elementary schools."

The letter claims teachers are afraid to express dissenting views and calls on the School Committee "to investigate, to find out for yourselves how much discontent there is and how ineffectively our schools are being managed."

School Committee Chairwoman Mary Ann Stewart, who is at a conference in Florida, did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

Lexington High School Principal Natalie Cohen, who was not in her office today, said she did not know about the letter in an email to Patch.

And Phyliss Neufield, whom the high school office identified as the teacher's union rep, also did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Patch obtained a copy of the letter, which tells of discontent with "unresponsive, arrogant and ineffective 'leadership' in our school system," which the writers described as an increasingly unpleasant place to work.

The School Committee has been.

Residents flooded the committee with emails and phone calls on either side of a June 7 meeting at which they announced they had .

The "vote to approve" the superintendent's contract first appeared as an agenda item on June 2, but at the meeting the general public learned the vote had already taken place.

Ash's name is not mentioned in the anonymous letter.

A School Committee meeting has been scheduled for June 15, but it's unclear what the agenda will hold.

About Town columnist Denise Dubé contributed to this report. Check back on Lexington Patch. We'll have more as the story develops.