# Easthampton school superintendent job offer abruptly rescinded **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248 "2023-04-06T13:01:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/41 "2023-04-06T16:06:11Z")
The Hampshire Gazette is the ‘newspaper of record’ for Hampshire County, MA. I get its sister paper which covers the county to the north of it. It is a reputable small daily. Easthampton is a small town near Northampton, which has to be one of the most libera (and pro LBGT etc) l towns in the US. This for context. Small-town politics around here are contentious and public. It’s a main source of entertainment. It does sound a lot like a guy who got (probably justly) turned down for a job found a way to make those responsible look stupid in an Identity Politics way. But like a lot of these things, there’s no doubt a lot of back story which hasn’t been published. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/42 "2023-04-06T16:10:48Z")
Also worth noting: > [@the article](#): > > Perrone has since reached out to the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents for legal counsel and said he was told that he has no legal recourse as he had no official contract. Dude wanted to sue the school board for not hiring him. When someone tells you who they are, believe them. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/43 "2023-04-06T16:17:31Z")
On the other hand, according to the Boston Globe: > The district’s teachers union has sided with Perrone. [More than 150 people](https://www.gazettenet.com/Residents-call-on-Easthampton-School-Committee-members-to-resign-in-wake-of-decision-to-rescind-superintendent-offer-50492403) turned out Monday to support Perrone at a rally organized by the Easthampton Education Association in front of the city’s Municipal Building. Some people seem to like him, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/44 "2023-04-06T16:17:41Z")
As has already been pointed out, he didn’t say “Ladies and gentlemen” as a opening salutation, he referred to a couple of board members as “ladies”. Depending on his tone of voice it could be totally innocuous or it could be totally condescending. As to whether using this phrase is what caused the offer to be rescinded… neither of us really knows if his story is true, but am not one to believe an unvaried story just because it aligns with my own feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/45 "2023-04-06T16:20:41Z")
Did that actually happen? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/46 "2023-04-06T16:23:50Z")
Or at least believe him. If, as suspected, it really was about the terms he wanted, the board could be in a bind. There can potentially be legal implications if they publicly divulge the terms and nature of the negotiations. But not disclosing them doesn’t leave them a lot to say to the public other than “that’s not how it happened but we’re not going to tell you anything more” In the meantime, it sounds like his claim went viral either way. Maybe it really happened and they’ve got a legitimate grievance about the overreach. But maybe they got riled up by a viral story that’s going out of control. They’re demanding they ‘reinstate’ the offer. But what offer? Their original one? Did he even want that? At a minimum, it sounds like he was not satisfied with those terms anyway, as a paycut from his current position. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/47 "2023-04-06T16:27:41Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Depending on his tone of voice it could be totally innocuous or it could be totally condescending. It was the start of an email supposedly. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/48 "2023-04-06T16:32:01Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Or at least believe him. Fair point. As you mentioned, all the reporting I’ve seen on this is based on public statements and interviews that he’s made, so it’s impossible to know at the moment what was really going on behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/49 "2023-04-06T16:35:15Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > The issue, according to the candidate, is that he used “ladies” to refer to two women on the school board. So what is the issue with using the term “ladies”? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/50 "2023-04-06T16:36:16Z")
Too few facts here to go on still. It’s a local story to me. I want to hear the details of the complaint. It’s not the only local school controversy by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/51 "2023-04-06T16:41:08Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > Some people seem to like him, it seems. Well of course some people do. He was a former Principal in the district, from what I can tell. It seems like a highly divided school committee (or board, or whatever they call it up there). It’s pretty shocking that a decision to hire a superintendent would be a 4-3 vote. Around here there would be plenty of closed-door sessions before a vote just to make sure it was unanimous. You can’t run a school district when half of the board thinks the superintendent is not the right person for the job. It’s also a bit telling that 3 board members voted against the former high school principal. That’s not a great sign. There are very likely many other issues dividing this community. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/52 "2023-04-06T16:42:37Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So what is the issue with using the term “ladies”? Well, nobody is actually referring to women of nobility right? So it can be polite, if stilted and old fashioned, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury.” It can be dismissive/ironic. “Hey Lady, get off your high horse.” It can be flirtatious verging on a parody of flirtatious. “Hey ladies…” like my gif above. It can be quoting Mindy from Animaniacs. “OK lady, I love you, bye bye” At best he was going for number 1? But you almost always hear it as Ladies and Gentlemen, not just ladies. So tone deaf at best to start an email like that? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/53 "2023-04-06T16:43:49Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So what is the issue with using the term “ladies”? Probably nothing. It seems like the most likely explanation is the 3 that didn’t want to hire him (which included the chairperson of the committee from what I can tell) used that, perhaps along with his contractual demands, to get somebody to flip to rescind the offer. The committee tried to meet again but their Zoom got swamped, keeping some of the members from even logging in. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/54 "2023-04-06T16:45:09Z")
I refer to a group of women as “ladies” when addressing them directly. I have never gotten any blowback for it. Never ever even once. I mean what other term would I use? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/55 "2023-04-06T16:46:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I mean what other term would I use? Hi everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/56 "2023-04-06T16:49:17Z")
It’s a bit of a hijack, but I really don’t use a salutation when writing an email message. For example, years ago, a letter I was sending might start, “Dear Sir” but I don’t do that in an email. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/57 "2023-04-06T16:50:21Z")
Did you say it respectfully, or with condescension? Once _again_, we have no idea how he said it…and, once _again_, we don’t know if that was the reason for the rescinding of the offer. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/58 "2023-04-06T16:50:30Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I refer to a group of women as “ladies” when addressing them directly. I have never gotten any blowback for it. Never ever even once. I mean what other term would I use? What word would you use if there were men in the group? Why is a gendered word necessary in a business setting, where gender should be unimportant? It’s not a hill I’m gonna die on, but especially when older guys refer to women as “ladies” in a professional setting, I get a whiff of patronizing condescension from the word, as if the folks being addressed are being addressed as representatives of their sex rather than as professionals. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/59 "2023-04-06T16:51:21Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Hi everyone? Still doesn’t tell me why “ladies” is offensive. Hell, I know many women that don’t think it’s offensive and use the term themselves. I really feel like I’m missing something here OR maybe it’s just recreational outrage. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248/60 "2023-04-06T16:51:47Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So what is the issue with using the term “ladies”? I am not a woman, but I have read/been told that some women find the use of the term, in some situations, to be patronizing, diminishing, and/or anachronistic. I no longer use the term myself, for the most part, as a result of this information. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easthampton-school-superintendent-job-offer-abruptly-rescinded/982248.md?page=4)