Wayland Candidate's 'Thug' Email Cited In Superintendent's Discrimination Filing

WAYLAND, MA — A former Wayland employee who is running for a seat on the Board of Assessors called the town's Black superintendent a "thug and a destroyer" in an email last year — a document that has become part of a larger discrimination complaint filed by the superintendent against the town.

Mary-Ann Wohlfarth worked as the assistant town assessor in Wayland until she resigned in October. In March, she filed to run for one of two seats up for election on the Board of Assessors. Wohlfarth's resignation came after a long dispute with Superintendent Omar Easy that began when her husband, Stan Wohlfarth, was fired from his job at Wayland High School in 2021.

In August, Wohlfarth emailed the superintendent after she grew upset at Easy over his handling of her husband's employment dispute, she said in an interview Tuesday. The email was included in a February Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) complaint filed by Easy two days after the school committee placed him on involuntary leave.

The email was partially redacted in the MCAD complaint, but Wohlfarth emailed Wayland Patch on March 1 identifying herself as the author. She said she identified herself to clarify she worked for the town, not the school district.

"You cannot deny [my husband] of his 1st amendment rights and of our rights and 27+ year residents of Wayland to work or volunteer in this town. You work for us as tax payers in Wayland you are not King of this town, just an employee," the Aug. 29 email said. "You are 'in my opinion a thug and a destroyer.' We have dealt with 4 Superintendents and all but you have not been collaborative and helpful. Not you, you are a destroyer of relationships, and of goals of this town."

When used in reference to Black people, the word "thug" is seen as a synonym of the N-word. Months after Wohlfarth sent her email, someone spray-painted "Omar = n----r" on a building outside the high school.

Wohlfarth said she didn't intend to come across as racially insensitive, and added that she's heard others in Wayland use the term "thug" to describe Easy. She also said she feels Easy took the superintendent job to "prove Wayland was a racist town."

"It was a stupid choice," she said in an interview Tuesday. "If I could talk to Dr. Easy today, I'd say I'm sorry I said that. I never should've used that word."

The email came after nearly a year of tension between Easy, Wohlfarth and her husband. According to Wohlfarth, her husband worked as a security guard at the high school, but was fired in December 2021 after an incident involving a group of METCO students.

According to Wohlfarth, her husband confronted the students in November 2021 after they had food delivered to the school against policy. One of the students claimed Wohlfarth touched her during the incident. The students also alleged they were targeted.

METCO is a voluntary school racial desegregation program that allows students from Boston to attend classes in suburban districts. Wayland has one of the largest METCO populations at close to 150 students, and in November moved to expand METCO to include pre-kindergarten students.

"[T]he email I sent to Dr. Easy was in response to him firing my husband and dragging out a union arbitration for 18 months (he never paid the arbitrator) then wanting my husband to agree to a 'deal' and sign a non-disclosure agreement. My husband, who did nothing wrong, was banned from the high school ... and told no one could speak to him, nor could he ever work for Wayland Schools ever again," Wohlfarth wrote in an email Tuesday.

The "thug" email led Easy on Aug. 30 to file separate harassment prevention orders against Wohlfarth and her husband. Wohlfarth said she believes the orders were due to she and her husband speaking out at school committee meetings. But in his MCAD filing, Easy indicated he sought the orders because he considered the email part of a series of "racist attacks."

"Wayland's Town Manager and Chief of Police helped me secure a harassment prevention order, but the School Committee urged me to drop the matter," he wrote in the MCAD filing in reference to the "thug" email.

Wohlfarth said she was placed on leave by the town after the email, but then chose to resign. She described the series of events starting at her husband's firing as traumatic for her family, and called Easy a "loose cannon" — but also said she thought he was a good person when he was hired in early 2021.

The school committee placed Easy on leave Feb. 8 without explanation. The committee has since selected a former Newton superintendent to take over for one year, a sign that Easy likely will not return to the job.

During an interview Tuesday, Wohlfarth said she had considered dropping out of the Board of Assessors race due to the email, but confirmed she would remain in the race. The last day to withdraw from the election was March 23, which means Wohlfarth's name would've appeared on the ballot even if she stopped campaigning.

Wohlfarth will face Board of Assessors incumbents Massimo Taurisano and Philip David Parks in the April 25 election.