According to a press release received by the Harvard Press on Nov. 6 from the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, a public hearing into charges against Harvard Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Jefferson and former School Committee Chairman Paul Wormser was scheduled for Nov. 12.
The commission’s enforcement division, in two orders to show cause, alleges that Jefferson and Wormser violated the conflict of interest law in 2006 by using their official positions to obtain reimbursement from the Harvard schools of $30,000 in special education funds toward Wormser’s daughter’s private school tuition.
The Press first broke the story in February 2007, at which time a dozen residents filed a citizens’ petition asking the town to conduct an independent audit of special education spending. One of the petitioners, Margot Holtzman, told the Press at that time that she had been worried about the escalating costs of special education, particularly rumored costs for placements of special needs students out of the Harvard school district, some, she alleged, without following policy guidelines. In the Press story a school employee, who asked not to be named for fear of losing her job, was quoted as saying that her attorney had filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission about the handling of special education funds.
In late spring Wormser and his family relocated to California due to a job change.
In March and April of 2007 James F. Gettens, an attorney representing two unnamed Harvard residents, filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for copies of records related to special education expenditures. He later alleged that Wormser did not file with the Ethics Commission a written description of the conflict of interest he had in accepting municipal funds for his daughter’s tuition, and therefore violated Mass. General Laws Chapter 268A, Section 6A, which specifies that an elected municipal employee participating in a municipal matter in which he or a family member has a financial interest must file such a document with the commission.
Gettens referred the case to the Worcester County District Attorney’s office and sent copies of his report and copies of pertinent documents to the State Attorney General’s office, the Department of Revenue, and Harvard Police Chief Ed Denmark.
When information about the reimbursements to Wormser and about Gettens’ allegations became public, many residents attended subsequent School Committee meetings and tried to pressure the committee into taking action against Jefferson. The School Committee maintained that it had not been contacted by anyone from the DA’s office about the case, and that the Ethics Commission would provide no information about it. School Committee members further said they could not discuss the case because of confidentiality issues.
Frustrated by what they saw as inaction by the School Committee, several residents (including current School Committee Chairman Keith Cheveralls) circulated a petition calling for censure of the 2007 School Committee. A censure vote passed at a Special Town Meeting in October of that year. That same month, the DA’s office announced that its investigation had found no criminal wrongdoing and that the state Ethics Commission was the proper venue for the matter. No further updates were provided by the Ethics Commission until the Nov. 6 press release.
The press release states that the orders to show cause in the case were filed on April 30, 2009, along with a motion for closed hearings, on the grounds that some issues in the case are confidential under state and federal regulations. On Nov. 6, Commissioner Jeanne M. Kempthorne denied the motion for a closed hearing and ruled that the public has a constitutionally protected right of access to Ethics Commission adjudicatory proceedings.
In a statement issued by e-mail on Nov. 10, Cheveralls said that he had been informed about the Nov. 12 hearing in a press release he received by e-mail from the State Ethics Commission on Nov. 6. He said that he subsequently forwarded it to the other School Committee members, adding that the committee has not met to review or discuss the allegations. The statement went on to say, “We reiterate respect for the rights of everyone involved to due process and to a fair hearing. We are confident the State Ethics Commission and all concerned in this matter will discharge their responsibilities accordingly. Until such time that the School Committee has information that can be shared, our focus must and will be on our schools and the students.”
Cheveralls told the Press that he will attend the hearing, which is scheduled to take place in Boston at 1 Ashburton Place, Room 619, at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, and may carry over to Friday morning if necessary.
Within 30 days after the public hearings, the full Ethics Commission will begin deliberations on the case in executive session. These deliberations have no set time limits, according to the commission’s executive director, Karen L. Nober. After the deliberations are complete, the commission then has another 30 days in which to issue its decision.
The Ethics Commission can impose civil penalties of up to $2,000 for a violation of the conflict of interest law committed prior to Sept. 29, 2009. Violations after that date are subject to higher penalties.
