SAUGUS ― Over the past few weeks, School Committee members have been in a war of words after the actions of member Arthur Grabowski forced the group to conduct their meetings online.
Grabowski broke his silence via Facebook, where he posted an open statement to the citizens of Saugus.
“While disagreements may have occurred, it was never personal as it is now,” the statement read. “I served on committees that saw student achievement and the stature of the district improve, committees that established protocols, and policies that were based on improving student achievement,” stated Grabowski.
Right before the School Committee meeting on Sept. 23, Grabowski and a fellow school administrator had an altercation. Grabowski claimed that during the altercation, he felt the adoption of payment warrants was an important “check” on school spending and financial accountability measures.
This conversation, which took place in the hallway outside of where the meeting was being held, was then noticed by committee Chair Tom Whittredge, who called Grabowski out for his actions on the spot.
After the meeting, the administrator expressed their safety concerns and desire for future meetings to go on Zoom until the matter was resolved.
“Look, I accept my warts and will be the first to admit I am sometimes not the most diplomatic or politically correct in my approach,” Grabowski said in his statement, in reference to the incident. “But please don’t tell me that I haven’t fought for the students that are most often overlooked who partake in drama, music, and the arts.” stated Grabowski.
Fellow committee member John Hatch also took to Facebook to respond to Grabowski’s online statement.
“First of all I appreciate your patriotism and your service to our country,” he said. “But none of that gives you the right to behave the way you do, and continue to misinform the public, and wordsmith statements to serve your agendas which most of the time is for a backhanded personal attack.”
Hatch also mentioned in his statement how he feels the situation should be handled.
“As I have said before, the bottom line here is you are not a good role model for our students, and you need to step aside and enjoy sitting at the beach, and thank you for your service,” said Hatch.
Committee Vice Chair Ryan Fisher weighed in as well ― on Facebook.
“If Mr. Grabowski stopped assaulting people, controlled his temper, stopped muscling himself into meetings he wasn’t invited to, stopped making racist statements, and apologized when he made mistakes instead of blaming everyone around him, he wouldn’t be so embattled and we wouldn’t be talking about him right now.” stated Fisher in his post.
“I don’t want to spend every waking moment discussing Mr. Grabowski, but he leaves me no choice because he can’t be trusted making decisions for the schools, both based on his horrendous performance over the past decade and his personal inability to control himself,” said Fisher
This is not the first time Grabowski’s actions have come under scrutiny. Back in April, he was stripped of his subcommittee titles after allegations of racist language made by the committee member were made the month prior (Item, April 25).
The remarks were directed towards the district’s non-English speaking employees. Assistant Operations Manager Steve Napolitana filed a complaint with the School Committee on March 28, accusing Grabowski of racially-biased statements toward the district’s maintenance workers who were reportedly in his presence at the time of the remarks.
In addition to losing his titles on the Finance, Policy, and Facilities subcommittees, Grabowski is no longer allowed on school premises as of April. In another incident, from 2016, Grabowski stood accused of assaulting 73-year-old Martin Graney with a bag of frozen fish patties at a veterans’ food drive. The incident resulted in court-ordered anger management classes for Grabowski.
“I can say without reservation, as a parent, as someone involved in the public-safety field, I would not trust Mr. Grabowski to make decisions for my child, and would certainly not allow him to be in any situation where he would be able to impact her safety,” said Fisher.
While Grabowski still intends to remain on the School Committee, he stated that he will continue to focus on Saugus school issues in the upcoming days before the election. His parting remarks in his Facebook statement reflected the acrimonious relationship between the two parties:
“A final point to my colleagues and others who seek office in Saugus before I make my exit: If this can happen to me it can happen to you. Play ball or they will get you out,” he wrote.
Fisher was unmoved.
“He has issues with rage and an inability to control his temper; those who support him have told me to treat him with kid gloves and give him a wide berth,” he said. “I’m a human being, and I feel for those who need treatment and support, but I don’t suggest putting them in charge of our children’s future as a consolation prize.”
