Allegations made by an employee are not substantiated

By David Porter

An independent investigation has been unable to substantiate allegations that Schools Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman threatened and created a hostile work environment for a subordinate. 

In a statement released Monday, the Regional School Committee and Superintendency Union 26 Committee said the investigation, conducted by an outside law firm that was hired by the committees, focused on three allegations: whether Herman had made a credible threat of harm to the employee; whether she had created a hostile work environment for an employee due to the employee’s disability, and whether she retaliated against certain employees based on their membership in a protected class.

According to the statement, the investigator’s findings “did not substantiate any of these allegations. Accordingly, the Committees have taken no action on the report, and now consider the matter closed.”

The statement went on to express support for Herman, who was one of three finalists in a national search for a new superintendent after Mike Morris left in 2023. She was hired last May and began as superintendent on July 1.

The superintendent did not respond to a request for comment as of the time of this publication. We will update this post with responses from the superintendent’s office, or the group of district leaders, if and when we receive them.

The investigation began in January after a group of 12 district leaders raised multiple complaints in an early December meeting with the chairs of the two committees; the complaints were later discussed in a late December executive session of the two committees. 

The investigation did not address all of allegations made by the group, prompting them to share a letter with The Amherst Current and other media outlets in January. The letter alleged that Herman had created a climate of fear and intimidation in her first six months on the job, including veiled threats of violence by her and an ally in the office. 

The Current spoke last month with six of the letter writers, who did not want their names to be public out of concerns about possible retaliation.

In an interview with The Current, Herman denied the allegations and called them “a defamation of my character” and said her alleged comments were “taken out of context and misconstrued.” The school district issued a statement from Herman in response to the allegations that was emailed to media outlets and to all district staff.

The allegations surfaced at the same time that Herman has been in renewed contract negotiations with the School Committee, which began in October and which one member with knowledge of the matter told The Current is about increased compensation for the current year. The School Committee has not discussed or yet voted on any additional compensation in public meetings.

David Porter grew up in Amherst and spent 35 years in the news business in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York City. He moved back to Amherst in 2022.