HADLEY — A May 2 vote by trustees for the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School to add two new members is being temporarily nullified by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Citing that one of the conditions set in February for allowing expansion of the school has not been met, Patrick Tutwiler, then interim commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, on May 21 informed trustees that he would not be acting on the request for appointments.

“I will not consider the appointment of new trustees to the board without evidence of the board’s efforts to directly address the conditions imposed by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in February 2025 related to board governance, specifically the board’s self-evaluation of its current capacity and expertise,” Tutwiler wrote.

Other conditions were that the board of trustees engage in training, conducted by an external consultant, on the roles and responsibilities of a board of trustees of a charter school; and that the board of trustees submit a plan to implement a cost-effective regional transportation plan eligible for state reimbursement.

At the May 2 meeting, based on recommendations from a subcommittee, and a review of all applications, the trustees appointed two former trustees, Chung Liu, a senior technical manager for the Massachusetts Municipal Electric Light Co. in Ludlow, and Elizabeth Larivee, a former trustee and retired Holyoke public schools teacher and administrator, as well as reappointing current trustee Hsinpei Normand. Liu and Larivee’s appointments are now on hold, though Normand’s was allowed.

During the process of appointments, parents Erin McCarthy of Granby, Shiri Dori-Hacohen of Amherst and Rachel Fiore of Springfield filed a complaint with the trustees that they had failed to adhere to its bylaws, the school’s charter and state education law. One of the concerns was that parents had applied to serve as trustees but were not interviewed.

McCarthy also filed a complaint with the state education department about alleged Open Meeting Law violations and violating conditions set by DESE.

In response, the Problem Resolution System Office at DESE wrote, “The Department is currently collecting information regarding how the Charter School’s Board of Trustees conducts its oversight authority. At this time, no deadlines have passed related to this condition. As such, your allegation does not allege a violation of education law or regulation and PRS will not take further action to investigate.”

The school’s attorney also responded to the complaint after trustees unanimously denied its contents.

Trustees President Charles Bagley said trustees reviewed all information and that the trusteeship subcommittee did its due diligence to review information from all applicants, and that not every applicant has to be interviewed or brought forward.

“As such, I believe the concern that the board didn’t exercise properly due diligence is unfounded and not any violation of law or process,” Bagley said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.