MONTAGUE — A Montague man told the School Committee Tuesday that he plans to propose a town-wide referendum on whether to change the Turners Falls mascot.
That same night, the school board chairman addressed rumors that some people had received death threats surrounding the mascot issue.
“As far as I know there’s no basis of fact for that concept,” Chairman Mike Langknecht said.
Still, he said that if anyone receives a death threat or sees it on social media, they need to call the police.
Jeff Singleton, who spoke at the first public forum on the mascot, attended the school board meeting on Tuesday night and notified the board of his intent to call for a referendum for the May town meeting ballot.
Singleton said the referendum would be non-binding, meaning that whatever the town voters decide, the school board does not have to follow it. The vote would be just a recommendation to the School Committee. He said he either needed the approval of the Town Selectmen or the signatures of 10 percent of the voters to get the measure on the ballot.
The school board wanted to make sure people understood that it is a different municipal government, separate from the two towns they serve, and therefore cannot create a referendum.
“Whether there is or isn’t a referendum in a town is not for us to decide,” Jane Oaks, a committee member, said during the board’s discussion on Tuesday.
Some board members also recommended making a decision before May, so the process would be complete before the end of the school year and it would prevent the mascot issue from becoming an issue for future school committee elections.
Langknecht said he will also be making a public statement about reporting threats ahead of the next public hearing on Nov. 15.
The board has created a system for gathering all documentation about the mascot issue. Board members have received emails on the issue, which are subject to public record laws and can be accessed by members of the public through a request.
Several board members said they read all of the emails they have received, but don’t typically respond, because they don’t want to make comments about it that are clearly in the public eye.
“There’s nothing behind the scenes, this is all pretty genuine,” committee member Christina Postera said. “This is the public process and it’s what we’re held to.”
Miranda Davis Covers Gill, Montague and Erving. Reach her at 413-772-0261, ext. 280
or mdavis@recorder.com.