AUBURN – There was an odd exchange at Wednesday’s School Committee meeting that stemmed from confusion about a furniture giveaway Aug. 17 at the School Department garage on Industry Avenue.

Some, including Joel Gray, wondered if the School Department is in such a dire financial situation, why it is giving furniture away.

As a front page story Wednesday’s Sun Journal story pointed out, it wasn’t the School Department giving items away, it was the Share Center.

But a vague ad didn’t say that. It appeared the School Department was behind it.

Giving used items away is what the Share Center does. It gets donated supplies and used furniture from area businesses and schools, and gives it to classroom teachers and nonprofits. It keeps supplies that still have some use out of landfills. Most love it.

Back to the School Committee meeting.

Share Center director Diane Doe, who is retiring, told committee members a citizen behaved horribly to one of her volunteers on Aug. 17.

The citizen was “extremely profane, rude, belligerent and bullying one of my board members who volunteers to do good work.” Doe said the interaction “was very, very, very ugly situation with screaming and swearing by an individual.”

Doe apologized that an ad about the giveaway was vague and didn’t say it was by the Share Center.

Committee Chairman Tom Kendall asked Doe if the individual apologized.

No, Doe said.

Sitting in the audience was Joe Gray, who, it turns out, was the citizen Doe said was rude and swearing.

Kendall invited anyone who wished to apologize to speak. That ticked off Gray.

“I will not apologize,” Gray said. “If you were not there, how can you ask me for an apology? You do not know what happened.”

He said there was no reason for him to apologize.

“I was not profane,” Gray said, and gave his account of what happened.

“The first thing I said to that lady when she said, ‘Can I help you?’ was, ‘Who authorized this?’ Then the lady there said, ‘Who are you?’”

Gray said he told her, “It’s not important who I am. Who authorized this? She said, ‘I’m not going to tell you. Who are you?’”

“So I said, ‘Who are you?’” Gray said. “She said, ‘I’m not going to tell you.’”

Gray then called a city councilor asking him to help. Gray handed his phone to the woman, who told the city councilor not to tell Gray who she was or who authorized the sale.

Gray said he told the woman, “Then close the doors because you’re giving away Auburn city property. She said, ‘I’m not going to do that.’”

Then Gray left.

Doe said the confrontation could have been avoided if someone asked questions and didn’t jump to conclusions that the school department was giving furniture away.

Gray said he asked questions but they were not answered.

Doe told the School Committee that no one asked in a pleasant way.

— Bonnie Washuk

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