Uxbridge superintendent apologizes, corrects error regarding failed Town Meeting vote

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include statements from Town Manager Steve Sette.

UXBRIDGE ― Uxbridge Superintendent Michael Baldassarre on Wednesday night issued a correction and an apology regarding an error contained in a press release the district sent out the day after Town Meeting voters struck down the school budget.

The apology — issued swiftly after the Telegram & Gazette reached out to the public relations firm the district employs, John Guilfoil Public Relations, to inquire about the error — acknowledged the release had incorrectly characterized the moment in the meeting in which voters were given inaccurate information.

"In my posting on May 15, I incorrectly stated that community members voted against the budget after receiving erroneous information provided to them during the meeting,” Baldassarre said in the corrected release. “While it is true that members of the public were told at previous meetings and budget forums that a 1/12 budget would be allocated in the event of a 'no' vote, this specific question did not come up at the May 14 town meeting until after the budget vote was cast.”

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The T&G has reached out to Baldassarre to request the dates and forums at which he asserts voters were given erroneous information prior to May 14.

At the May 14 meeting, voters, by a margin of five votes, struck down the district’s proposed $27 million budget following a lengthy period of debate. Immediately after the vote failed, following a question about the ramification of the vote, Town Manager Steve Sette erroneously told voters that the schools would continue to receive a “one-twelfth” budget, or a monthly budget level-funded to what they had received in fiscal 2024.

No one from town government, including the School Committee or the administration, questioned the statement, and Baldassarre spoke for several minutes about the impacts a level-funded budget would have on the district in the coming fiscal year.

The following day, after receiving information from the state, Baldassarre issued a press release through Guilfoil that said state officials had confirmed that the failure to pass the budget actually meant the district would have $0 as of July 1.

The third sentence of the release incorrectly stated that “community members who voted against the budget did so after receiving erroneous information provided to them during the meeting.”

In the corrected release, Baldassarre wrote that what had transpired was an “error on my part, and I sincerely apologize to the community for offering incorrect information. That is never my intention.

"I also wish to apologize to Town Manager Steve Sette and to town meeting voters for mischaracterizing the events that transpired.”

The false information was quoted or referenced in several news outlets, including the T&G in an interview with Baldassarre Tuesday, referencing it as he reflected on potential reasons the vote may have failed.

Town residents posted about the error on Facebook groups last week. The T&G reached out to John Guilfoil, the head of the PR group, to inquire about the error Wednesday afternoon and the corrected press release was issued within about two hours.

Guilfoil, a former Boston Globe reporter and longtime spokesman for Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, told the T&G his policy is to promptly correct any errors that appear in a news release.

In this case, he said, after determining the release contained a substantial error, it was removed from the company’s website and a correction issued after consulting with the client.

Guilfoil, whose company represents hundreds of clients in a dozen states, said the removal of a press release from his website was not common, estimating it’s only happened about a handful of times.

Prior to the news release being corrected, Baldassarre reached out to the T&G and said that he was checking on the issue. He said he could not immediately recall the sequence of events at Town Meeting, but that any error in the release would have been inadvertent.

Baldassarre asserted, as the corrected release infers, that while Sette did not erroneously state the potential ramifications of a “no” vote until after the vote at Town Meeting, he did state the same erroneous opinion at a recorded meeting with public officials in March.

However, a review of the video appears to indicate that Sette was talking about the implications of a failed override, not a normal budget vote on Town Meeting floor, and Sette, asked to comment Thursday, said his comments were confined to what happens in the event of a failed override.

Sette, asked whether he could recall making any statement about a "1/12" budget at any other meeting or forum other than Town Meeting, replied that he could not.

He added that it would seem to ultimately be the responsibility of the school department to know the ramifications of a failed budget vote.

“I will continue to stress this — if it was wrong, why didn't anybody in the school administration correct it?" he asked.

Baldassarre told the T&G Wednesday that he believes that, based on the alleged erroneous statements about the process he says occurs, many town officials and voters likely knew the implications of not passing a budget prior to their May 14 vote, even if it was not explicitly stated that evening until after the vote.

He also noted that, had the correct information been offered immediately following the vote, it’s possible Town Meeting voters then could have voted on an amended amount.

Sette told the T&G earlier this week his focus is on getting a school budget passed, which he believes will happen.

Baldassarre ended Wednesday’s corrected release by writing, “At this time, the Uxbridge Public Schools administration is focused on presenting an acceptable budget for the Special Town Meeting on June 18.

“It is our sincere hope that we will come together with a budget and move forward for the good of our students and their dedicated teachers."

Meanwhile, Uxbridge isn't the only school system in Central Massachusetts confronting the possibility of starting the fiscal year without a budget.

Monday, Town Meeting voters in Winchendon defeated a budget proposal. The Gardner News reported that dozens of residents and teachers were upset about that the proposal cut teacher and specialist positions while providing raises for leading administrators.

The Winchendon school budget will now be reviewed by the town's Finance Committee and the Select Board before being presented again at a Special Town Meeting, whose date has not yet been determined.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Uxbridge superintendent apologizes for error in press release