Acton-Carlisle antisemitism allegations spark split reactions to school leadership
Former School Committee officials are among those criticizing administrators and pushing for change.
Three former School Committee officials are among those criticizing administrators and pushing for change after a federal civil rights complaint claimed years of unchecked antisemitic behavior in Acton schools.
Another former member is standing by school leaders — all while the current committee defers comment to schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter.
Alleged antisemitic incidents that came to light this week included soccer squads nicknamed “Team Hitler” and “Team Auschwitz” and a bully’s demands to see a Jewish student’s “Holocaust tattoo.”
“We’ve failed our community when these kids could say stuff like that,” former School Committee member Cynthia Rainey, who left office last month, said in an interview Wednesday.
“If the School Committee really has the interests of the community and the students [at heart] — which I constantly hear [is] their top priority — then they need to do something,” Rainey said.
Hunter said on Tuesday the high school “does not tolerate antisemitic acts between its students” and “every report is fully investigated and addressed swiftly and seriously.” She didn’t answer follow-up questions.
‘Pervasive’ antisemitism
The Anti-Defamation League, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and the Mayer Brown law firm outlined claims in a legal brief with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Much of the brief centers on a Jewish student who left the high school during the 2024-25 school year, but advocates say problems with antisemitic slurs, symbols, and gestures are “pervasive.”
The brief supports a preexisting investigation and asks the OCR to require CCHS to make changes.
Alexa Anderson, who lost her April School Committee re-election bid and left the committee in June, said school administrators have been in touch with the OCR since mid-April, “complying with requests for information.”
Rainey, who did not seek reelection after two terms on the School Committee, said she first learned about the alleged bullying through media reports on Tuesday. She said Hunter should have told the full committee about the issues — and hopes those still on the panel will push for answers.
“There’s just such a pattern of this kind of thing happening,” Rainey said, referencing a larger string of hateful incidents.
An email to CCHS co-Principal Katie Stahl generated an out-of-office autoreply on Wednesday. Co-Principal Brian Miller said Hunter would “handle all of our communication with the press.”
CCHS School Committee chair Tracey Marano said the committee had “nothing further to add” to Hunter’s statement. She emailed a verbatim copy of Hunter’s comments after The Acton Bridge asked follow-up questions.
The Bridge reached out individually to School Committee members and METCO representatives. None answered questions.
The full School Committee is next scheduled to meet August 20.
A matter of trust
Anderson told The Bridge on Thursday that “we have a very transparent relationship between the School Committee and the administration.”
Contrary to Rainey’s comments, she said Hunter tells the committee about “every major incident.” She said she personally knew about the incidents involving the student mentioned in the federal filing.
“High-functioning School Committee members and administrators recognize that trust between the School Committee and the administration is integral to the success of any school district,” Anderson said in an email.
She said Hunter “works hard to create a transparent environment” and keep all School Committee members informed about incidents.
Anderson also said she created systems and processes during her tenure as committee chair to better share information and data among members. She said trust between members and the administration is “at an all-time high” and that Hunter’s transparency “is a part of that success.”
Partial notification
Rainey said that when she was on the committee, Hunter distributed information about incidents such as mechanical issues with a bus, but not about cases like those described in the document from the ADL, the Brandeis Center, and Mayer Brown.
She said it’s part of Hunter’s job to tell the elected members about hateful incidents.
Advocates said the family at the center of their complaint approached administrators with a list of slurs and offensive comments directed at their son, but received a lackluster response.
While the district reportedly faced complaints about bias incidents, the School Committee plowed ahead with its proposal for a new amenities building, which aims to address a lack of code-compliant and accessible bathrooms at CCHS’ Memorial Field.
Rainey called this a “worthwhile project.”
At the same time, the committee was “so concerned about students, so concerned about the community, [and] so concerned about a potential lawsuit that we spent all of our capital on that,” she said, “and the superintendent just sat there and let us do that without telling us about this [antisemitism problem].”
If details in the recent brief are correct, Rainey said, not disclosing them to the School Committee and the public is “arguably lying.”
Beyond direct School Committee communications, Rainey flagged a recent summary of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives and a 2025-26 CCHS school improvement plan with no mention of antisemitic bullying or recent anti-Jewish graffiti.
Court Booth, who served on the School Committee until April 2024, said in a Thursday email to The Bridge that Hunter stopped communicating with individual members during his tenure and instead routed her messages through the chairs.
Like Rainey, he said elected officials need to be informed about situations like this “in order to anticipate questions and concerns from our constituents.” He said “legal exposure is possible.”
Ex-high school METCO Representative Domingos DaRosa resigned his post last year in part due to frustrations with Hunter’s administration.
Asked by The Bridge if he had heard about hateful incidents like those alleged in this week’s filing, he responded, “Hell, no.”
DaRosa called for more openness. He said while on the school board, he often learned about issues, including antisemitic incidents and anti-Black hate speech, from his own kids or from other parents — not from the administration.
Hunter, he said, “will be transparent on certain things, and only things that were cute and cuddly.”
Acton parent Marc Girolimetti, whose wife and kids are Jewish, has spoken about antisemitism at multiple School Committee meetings and said there’s a “groundswell” of people fed up with recent events.
He said some are increasingly upset with school administrators. Within Acton, he said officials must “earn trust back in a big way.”
Things didn’t have to escalate to this point, he said, “but people in a position of leadership chose not to address it properly.” While he hopes this is a “wake-up call,” he’s also worried about the new filing drawing federal interest for the wrong reasons.
Girolimetti said he doesn’t think President Donald Trump and his administration “understand what this all means.”
“For them,” he said, “antisemitism is just a talking point designed to gin people up.”
‘More an anomaly’
Acton Police Capt. Brian Goldman said the schools keep police “in the loop” on incidents that could involve criminal activity.
Police also help report certain incidents to other agencies. Goldman said a reporting delay that left law enforcement unaware of a swastika at the CCHS skate park this spring — which should have been reported to the State Police, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, and the ADL — was “more an anomaly than a practice.”
In a Wednesday email, DEI Commission co-Chair and CCHS parent Rose Cratsley said she’s “deeply concerned by the ongoing acts of hate in our schools and our community.” She called for transparency and said the town must “come together to [e]nsure healing for those who have been harmed.”
And state Rep. Simon Cataldo (D-Acton) said allegations add urgency to the work of the state Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism, which he co-chairs.
Cataldo said rising antisemitism “has struck fear into Jewish families around the state.” Reading CCHS claims, he said, “Everything here is eerily familiar.”
The Select Board and Town Manager Kerry Lafleur responded in a joint statement, saying in part, “We recognize the profound seriousness of the claims raised and want to express our unwavering commitment to fostering a town where every individual feels safe, respected, and free from discrimination.”
Leadership concerns
Booth said he’s “no longer confident” in the current school administration’s ability to address hateful incidents.
Asked if the schools can fix their alleged issues with Hunter at the helm, Rainey said, “I don’t know.”
“I should be able to say ‘yes,’” she said, “but I can’t, because this shouldn’t have happened this way. Period.”
Rainey said Hunter’s handling of the alleged abuse should have been part of the superintendent’s recent evaluation. “That alone is a serious situation,” she said.
‘Strong confidence’
Unlike Rainey, Booth, and DaRosa, Anderson defended administrators and the School Committee.
A former committee chair, she said the panel has a “very well defined” and narrow charge, and it’s inappropriate for members to take an active role in discipline “to protect both the privacy of the children who are targets, but also the perpetrators as well.”
She said she feels the committee has always taken a proactive stance against hate and that she’s confident the group will follow any new guidance about its roles and responsibilities from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
She said Hunter’s recent evaluation by the group provides a “very detailed view” of their perspectives on her work. The evaluation rated Hunter’s performance “proficient,” with “exemplary” marks in several categories.
Room for improvement
During an at times emotional interview, Rainey previewed what could be a lengthy reckoning and suggested measures such as a public discussion involving school officials, faith leaders, and the community.
“This isn’t going to be the last we hear about this,” she said.
Anderson said the school district and the School Committee “is dedicated to creating an environment where all students feel safety and belonging.”
“But it’s a lofty goal,” she said. “I’m not sure you’d find anywhere in the world where that goal is fully realized.”
