To the editor:

For whatever reason, the Little Compton Taxpayers Association (LCTA) neglected to add to its letter (Aug. 20 —“Taxpayers Assn. blasts plagiarism accusation”) the names of the letter’s actual author or authors. So I went to the organization’s own website and to the RI Secretary of State’s website to see just who is officially responsible for the actions of the LCTA, including their public statements. The LCTA website lists the following officers: Joe Quinn (chairman), George Crowell (1st vice chair), and Roger Lord (secretary/treasurer). LCTA’s most recent annual filing with the Secretary of State as a non-profit corporation lists Roy Bonner as a director, in addition to the three officers listed above.

Whoever actually composed the unsigned LCTA letter, these four men are ultimately responsible for its representations and rhetoric. As published, their personally unsigned letter in effect represents an anonymous smear against other Little Compton citizens, some named individually, others associated by unsubstantiated innuendo and insinuation. For my part, I would be proud to follow a “wolf pack” (LCTA’s phrase) led by such dedicated officials as School Committee members Polly Allen and Patrick McHugh and citizen David Middleton. Even in the face of LCTA’s harsh public attacks, these persistent, principled individuals have demonstrated their determination to defend the integrity and quality of Little Compton’s school.

Readers of the LCTA letter can reach their own conclusions about its logic, tone, and factual accuracy. I would not go so far as to call the letter “evil,” “obnoxious,” “treacherous,” “tiresome,” “a travesty,” “misguided,” or “a major disservice to our community.” But if I did, my cited source of inspiration for those quoted words and characterizations would be the LCTA’s own letter in the Aug. 20 edition of the Sakonnet Times.

The LCTA letter was prompted by the then-pending August 18 meeting of the Little Compton School Committee, the agenda for which included this somewhat cryptic item: “Presentation by Principal Arruda regarding plagiarism issues (as necessary).”

I attended and spoke briefly at the meeting. At the point where this agenda item was addressed, neither School Committee Chair Allder nor School Superintendent Crowley offered any explanation of or context for the allegations previously reported in the Times. Nor did either of them describe the procedures the superintendent and the committee intended to follow to assess the allegations and consider any consequences, if the allegations were deemed to have merit. Instead, they turned the meeting over to Mr. Arruda and his attorney, Mr. Jeffrey Sowa.

I assume the Sakonnet Times will report on the events of the meeting. During the discussion about the plagiarism issue, there was a lot of talk about “integrity.” Based on my own experience as a journalist, a public official, and a person who has been around for a while, I try to avoid passing judgment, especially publicly, on the integrity of any individual.

But the issue at hand, it seems to me, is not the integrity of any individual, but the integrity of Little Compton’s school system. The responsibility for maintaining and enforcing the integrity, and the standards, of the Wilbur-McMahon School falls squarely on the shoulders of the School Superintendent and the School Committee. The manner in which those School Department leaders have thus far addressed this matter has been unprofessional, confusing,and inconsistent.

It’s not up to the Sakonnet Times, concerned citizens, Mr. Arruda, or his lawyer to determine whether the conduct and actions Mr. Arruda publicly acknowledged on Aug. 18 represent plagiarism (for which the School Department has adopted a clear definition that applies to students) or the violation of any regulation, standard, or contractual requirement to which Mr. Arruda is subject. Mr. Arruda is of course entitled to due process and fair treatment. But the citizens of Little Compton, not to speak of school students, are also entitled to assurance that the School Superintendent and the School Committee will continue and complete their assessment of this matter in a transparent manner which upholds the educational and ethical standards the community must expect for our school.

Finally, attendees at the meeting witnessed the jaw-dropping spectacle of two School Committee members, Mr. Allder and Ms. Bugara, engaged in an escalating screaming match during a recess called after the plagiarism discussion. A police officer in attendance stepped forward briefly, prepared to intervene in the dispute before it got entirely out of control. (We now know why the police officer was present at the meeting in the first place: apparently to protect School Committee members from each other.) This raucous display, on the part of adults who are expected to be role models for children, was an embarrassment to the community. Mr. Allder and Ms. Bugara owe the community an apology for conduct that would likely not be tolerated if it involved students of the Wilbur-McMahon School.

Larry Anderson

Little Compton