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Boston Globe

An email with the word ‘ladies' cost him the top job at Easthampton schools. Now, the same email has cost him his lawsuit.

Perrone argued in court papers that Easthampton was bound by an oral contract that took effect when he accepted the job during a telephone call with Cynthia Kwiecinski, who then chaired the school board. But in a 17-page opinion, US District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni concentrated his analysis on the contents of the controversial email, which Perrone sent to Kwiecinski and the committee's executive assistant on March 29, 2023. Advertisement Kwiecinski had told Perrone in a telephone call that he had gotten the job and should be ready for formal approval by the full panel, according to court records. In response, Perrone wrote an email that began with 'Ladies,' a word choice that sparked a broad debate on the definition of 'microaggression' and In his ruling, Mastroianni noted that Perrone asked in the email for a 3 percent raise in the second and third years of the contract, as well as 30 vacation and 18 sick days annually. Advertisement 'All other language and provisions are acceptable to me,' he concluded the email. 'Thank you!" Mastroianni ruled that Perrone was still negotiating the terms of his contract. 'It is undisputed that [Perrone] did not sign an actual employment contract. [Perrone] nevertheless argues he had a valid contract (and a protected property interest),' Mastroianni wrote. 'There is no plausible support, whether direct or inferential, for [Perrone's] legal conclusion that an enforceable contract was created by the March 29 email.' Perrone's contention that he had a valid contract conflicts with Massachusetts law that sets stringent conditions on the hiring of public school superintendents, the judge said. 'Massachusetts public policy requires an affirmative vote of the School Committee to accept any alterations to a previously offered employment agreement,' he wrote. 'As a matter of law, no enforceable contract is formed until such a vote occurs.' He threw out Perrone's 14th Amendment claim with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. He also dismissed several other claims but left open the possibility for Perrone to bring a new lawsuit in the future. Perrone's attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment. He is now the superintendent of the Kwiecinski is no longer on the school board and Nicole LaChapelle, who as mayor was a voting member of the committee in 2023, left office on July 14 to become commissioner of the state's department of Conservation and Recreation. John R. Ellement can be reached at