Over the years, embattled School
Committee Chairman Chris Allen has worked
very hard to help the public school
children of North Andover get a better
education.
But, Allen’s behavior of late has
overshadowed much of the good her efforts
might have accomplished.
First, Allen was engaged in using school
department resources (and employees) to
orchestrate and promote the imposition of
a meals tax for town restaurants.
Then, she conspired with Superintendent
Hottel to charge The Valley Patriot
$7,099 to fill a Freedom of Information
request for a copy of her school
department emails (sent and received)
prior to the recent Special Town Meeting.
E-mails obtained (separately) by the
Valley Patriot clearly show Allen using
the school department computer server to
campaign, to insult town residents, to
call the tea party “the party of
dicks” and to call town activist Ted
Tripp and meals tax opponents “small
minded”.
When Chris Allen was recently confronted
by Mr. Tripp at a public meeting, she
refused to apologize for her behavior. At
a later meeting she did apologize, but
quickly retracted that apology by saying
everything she had written in her letter
was “true”.
Equally or even more disturbing however
is that Allen recently hired former North
Andover High School wrestling coach David
Castricone to fix the roof on her home on
Belmont Street. Castricone is out on bail
while he awaits trial on child porn
charges… not to mention that he was
video-taped coming and going from the
girls’ locker room at North Andover
High.
Students are left to ask themselves:
”Does Chris Allen stand with us, or
with her friend who was trolling the
girls’ locker room?”
Allen’s behavior of late is bizarre
to say the least, and is nothing short of
unbecoming of the prestigious position
she holds as the elected leader of the
North Andover Public Schools.
We expect more … much more.
Chris Allen has an obligation to the
voters to refrain from propaganda, lies,
vulgar language, personal attacks,
abusing her authority in the schools to
promote her cause, supporting a coach who
may have victimized students, and using
taxpayer resources for political
activity.
Mrs. Allen not only owes Mr. Tripp a
sincere public apology but she also owes
the Merrimack Valley Tea Party, school
employees and the taxpayers of North
Andover a public apology.
It is time for Chris Allen’s to step
down as chairman of the North Andover
School Committee.
