Riley: School board credibility diminished

By L.E. Crowley
Town correspondent

Two of three Hingham selectmen support changing the name of the Dorothy Galo Elementary School, and one of them said Tuesday that the controversy could have been avoided if the School Committee had heeded warnings.

“This may be political sabotage, but for this selectman, the credibility of the School Committee is not what it used to be,” John Riley said at the Tuesday session, when the Board of Selectmen made its recommendations on the questions at the Aug. 3 Special Town Meeting.

Riley and Bruce Rabuffo voted in favor of supporting articles asking residents to rename the Galo school to East Elementary School, and instead name the new school’s library for Dorothy Galo, the current superintendent of schools.

The third member of the board, Laura Burns, said she would have been happy with whatever the School Committee decided and has believed all along that using a Special Town Meeting to overturn the decision is too drastic and divisive a measure.

“Just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should override a lawful decision of the School Committee,” Burns said.

Last night marked the first time that selectmen publicly gave opinions on the controversy that has swirled since May 11, when the School Committee named the elementary school after Galo. The panel rejected naming the school after Herbert Foss, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, or calling it East Elementary School—which was the name until it closed in 1984.

Riley was a member of the three-person special committee that suggested names. At Tuesday’s meeting, Riley said he knew the recommendations could be rejected, but he, like many others, expected the School Committee to give the community time to debate the three choices. Instead, Riley said, the board made its decision May 11, the night most residents and officials first heard the options.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think the School Committee would vote that night,” Riley said. “It was my understanding they would take the recommendation of the naming committee to the School Committee and there would be a decision the following week.”

Many School Committee members attended Tuesday’s meeting and tried to persuade Riley or Rabuffo to support the committee on all questions for town meeting. Committee member Stephen Nagle said that a move to prevent the School Committee from naming any buildings until there is a policy on naming public buildings or a Town Meeting vote gives an appearance of punishing the committee.

“It makes it look like the School Committee is out of control,” Nagle said.

Riley said he had warned the committee that picking either Galo or Foss for the name was a “no-win” situation that would end in controversy. Nagle defended the School Committee’s right to make its decision.

Burns interrupted an impassioned exchange about the so-called naming moratorium imposed on the School Committee with: “I don’t think there’s much chance anyone is going to name anything until there is a policy.”

More than 30 residents and officials attended last night’s meeting. Selectmen limited the time for discussion, and only a few residents offered opinions on both sides of the argument.

In the end, selectmen voted 2-1 to support naming the school East Elementary and the library after Galo. They voted 3-0 against the request to have the School Committee pay the costs for the Special Town Meeting. They said that the costs are a town bill, and the School Department is part of the town.

Peter Finney, one of the organizers trying to change the Galo name, said the group wanted to withdraw the request for payment by the School Department. But because the warrant has already been sent to print, any change will have to take place at Special Town Meeting.