A School Committee divided over the evaluation of its superintendent heard one its members admit Sept. 11 that he was the source of the first report of the e-mail scandal that led to the dismissal of an Ottoson teacher and its principal. Board member Jeff Thielman read a statement saying he released the report of an initial evaluation saying, " I believe strongly in the public's right to know."

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Many of the estimated 60 people in the audience broke into applause, and committee Chair Susan Lovelace requested quiet.

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Thielman's full statement follows:

In early July, former Ottoson Middle School teacher Chuck Coughlin called me and other School Committee members and said he was the victim of retaliation by Superintendent Nate Levenson. Mr. Coughlin said Mr. Levenson was trying to fire him because of a "harmless email exchange" he had with then Principal Stavroula Bouris.

It is my understanding that Mr. Coughlin also contacted other Arlington elected officials, as well as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, to complain about the superintendent.

On July 13, 2007, I received a report from Superintendent Nate Levenson and Attorney Alan Miller detailing email exchanges between Mr. Coughlin and Ms. Bouris.  The report was distributed to all members of the School Committee because a majority of School Committee members questioned the superintendent after receiving calls from Mr. Coughlin.

After reading the packet, I concluded that the emails were far from harmless.  In fact, I viewed them as outrageous conduct that was harmful to the mission of the Ottoson and the Arlington Public Schools.  A supervising principal and teacher forging emails under the superintendent's name, denigrating other staff members, and exchanging sexually laden emails is completely unacceptable and is by no means a "harmless email exchange."  The concerted effort to misrepresent the emails as innocent and the district's actions as vindictive had far more potential to damage our school system than did setting the record straight.

Bob Sprague, a journalist in Arlington, was seeking information on this matter and was following up on rumors that Mr. Coughlin and Ms. Bouris were being disciplined for an ill-defined offense.  Because Mr. Coughlin was misrepresenting the content of the emails, and because he was making serious and false accusations to town leaders and other faculty and staff members, I believed that it was important for the staff and the public to know the truth about the email exchanges.  The emails showed that this matter was about multiple incidents of inappropriate conduct by Mr. Coughlin and Ms. Bouris.

Under Massachusetts law, documents distributed to a School Committee member are public documents. Paragraph seven of Mr. Levenson's July 13th cover letter also stated that the report and the email exchanges were public documents. Therefore, I provided a copy of the July 13th report to Mr. Sprague.

I believe the Superintendent acted correctly in dismissing both Ms. Bouris and Mr. Coughlin.  Their behavior was unprofessional.  It set a poor example for young people in Arlington, and it led to a hostile work climate at the Ottoson Middle School.

If I had to make the decision to release the documents again, I would.  I believe strongly in the public's right to know the truth about any issue handled by a governmental body, including the Arlington School Committee.  The Arlington community has long demanded that the School Committee and other town bodies deliberate openly and honestly. All School Committee members had an obligation to dispel rumors and misinformation by disclosing the truth we had in our hands this summer. I was not about to be intimidated into hiding the facts from the people of Arlington.

I did not want to speak about this issue until the entire School Committee was assembled, and tonight is our first meeting since the release of the July 13th report.  

I recognize that some on this Committee will disagree with my decision to release the report to the public, but I believe it was consistent with the law and with our responsibilities to the people of Arlington. I stand by my decision, and I am proud of it.

Finally, let me say that I believe the people of Arlington want this School Committee to move off this subject as quickly as possible and onto the business of improving teaching and learning in our schools.  

I am confident that the Arlington School Committee will take this path in the year ahead.  

Thank you.