Uxbridge superintendent apologizes, corrects error regarding failed Town Meeting vote

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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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, with Baldassarre, in an interview 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 noted, as the corrected release references, 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.

Baldassarre told the T&G he believes that, based on that erroneous statement, many town officials and voters likely knew what Sette had said regarding 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 then could have voted on an amended amount.

Sette, reached Wednesday morning, declined to comment on Baldassarre’s May 15 press release. He 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."

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