LYNNFIELD — At the Nov. 4 School Committee meeting, Chair Kristen Elworthy talked about her refusal to remove a comment posted by parent, Raffi Esayan, to the School Committee’s Facebook page.
Committee member Kim Baker Donahue called the comment “antisemitic” and said it is “targeting me specifically.”
Esayan’s comment said: “Will Christmas trees and decorations be allowed in the schools this year without some parents throwing a fit? That is my question.”
Esayan has reportedly been targeting Baker Donahue with hateful, antisemitic comments on the Committee page as well as on her campaign page, which was used during her run for School Committee, according to parent Lindsay Weiss, who commented on Committee member Jamie Hayman’s post.
“This man continues to do this on public school committee pages to cause unrest in the community. Then the posts get continually shared to other groups with his comments attached. Sadly, the chair of the school committee cannot manage her own (Facebook) page, and somehow comments from this man continue to ‘slip’ by. Then she shuts off comments for the rest of us. So for me, the argument she makes about free speech seems to only apply to the commenter since the rest of community becomes censored like you said,” Weiss commented. “Mind you there is context about this person’s behavior that the public may not be privy too. A few years ago, Kim asked for inclusivity during her child’s holiday class party and was met with responses like this from this family.”
Elworthy’s refusal, at the Nov. 4 School Committee meeting, led to a heated exchange between her and Baker Donahue, a debate over freedom of speech, public records, and the Committee’s social presence and policy that has continued online in recent days.
During the Nov. 4 meeting, Elworthy said she would be “uncomfortable” if she were in a position where she was “supposed to restrict people’s speech.” She added, “I’ve never deleted a Facebook comment, and many of them have been aimed at me.”
On Nov. 9, Hayman made a post on his personal Facebook page to express support for Baker Donahue after submitting “multiple written requests” to add a disclaimer to the Committee’s page; Hayman has been unsuccessful in getting the disclaimer added thus far.
The Massachusetts Association of School Committees has issued guidance in its example policy “District Website and Social Media” (File KDCB). It states, “In order for public communication with the School Committee and district personnel to be responded to in a timely manner, in line with the legal requirements for public communication, commenting on all district and school sites will be turned off.”
Elworthy said on Wednesday that she has met with town counsel about what “they can and can’t do, in a content-neutral manner” to moderate Facebook comments.
She added that she plans to discuss the idea for a disclaimer and the wider issue at hand at a “workshop meeting” on Friday. Elworthy said she was responsive to Hayman and answered his questions, but she can’t unilaterally make decisions about the page.
Hayman acknowledged that Elworthy did respond to his request, but he said that he didn’t find it sufficient, and that she did not mention whether she would change the disclaimer.
“We, as a committee, have a responsibility to model behaviors that we expect from the school community,” Hayman said on Wednesday. “Creating a safe, inclusive learning community, where all students have a feeling of belonging begins with the School Committee holding itself and the community to the same standards.”
Esayan, according to police records, has a history of arrests for charges including possession of heroin in 2015 and assault and battery on a police officer in 2020, and has made racist statements in public Facebook comments in the past.
On Oct. 26, Esayan commented on the WBZ/CBS News Boston Facebook page: “Looks illegal. Prison or deport immediately.” His profile picture is of a well-known meme that was co-opted by the alt-right in the mid 2010s: Pepe the Frog. This version depicts the character wearing a blue hat that says, “Please be patient my mom took Tylenol,” in reference to the recent controversial claim made by President Donald Trump that Tylenol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy causes autism.
Baker Donahue was unable to be reached for comment prior to The Item’s press time.
