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Date: 5/1/2015
HOLYOKE – Despite hours of testimony that overwhelmingly was against a state takeover of the Holyoke school district, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted eight in favor and three against for receivership for the city’s public schools on April 28.
Jacqueline Reis, a spokesperson for the board, told Reminder Publications a receiver should be selected within the next several weeks.
“There is no strict timeline,” she explained.
Mayor Alex Morse issued the following statement, “It goes without saying that receivership isn’t a scenario anyone wanted for the Holyoke schools. No doubt, today’s announcement will be disappointing to many.
“However, I am hopeful that, if implemented the right way, today’s decision will present us with the opportunity to form an effective partnership, and to build upon the progress we’ve already made for our schools. In its own review, the state acknowledged ‘pockets of excellence’ in our district, and [School Superintendent] Dr. [Sergio] Paez, [Assistant Superintendent] Dr. [Paul] Hyry, and our school committee deserve our thanks for the strong foundation they've laid. With today’s decision, our voices are needed now more than ever. Our hardworking teachers are needed now more than ever. As we prepare for the next phase of this process, it will be important for all Holyokers – parents, teachers, administrators and students alike – to advocate for what our schools do well, and work collaboratively to fix what needs to be improved. The future of our schools is still very much ours to shape, and I look forward to what we will achieve together.”
Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester said, “I approach receivership with a profound sense of responsibility to the youth and city of Holyoke. In light of the persistent and pervasive underperformance of the district, it simply is not defensible to leave on the table the tools and authorities that receivership provides. For this reason, I applaud the Board's vote.”
He added, “Rapid improvement in results will not come from business as usual. There are many talented teachers and staff in Holyoke, and I welcome those who are willing to commit to the turnaround process we are undertaking. We will need their help to rethink the educational program from the ground up.”
The decision came less than 24 hours after a public hearing conducted at the War Memorial attended by an estimated 800 people. Ninety people had sign up to address the board and 65 spoke.
The testimony was largely against the takeover. Holyoke School Committee member Dennis Birks compared what the state has done to the city’s schools to a torture used to force confessions during the Salem Witch Trials, in which the accused was crushed slowly by stones. He noted that progress had started to be made with graduation rates increasing and suspensions decreasing, all accomplished with local control.
Holyoke Teachers Association President Gus Morales said a united community came to the meeting “under the pretense of a threat.” He stated the situation with the school “shouldn’t have come to this” and there are other ways to approach the educational challenges in the city. He called receivership “a hostile takeover of out city.”
Paez told the board that receivership was “not a good idea at this point.” He added, “Every change in education takes time. I don’t understand why time isn’t being given to us.”
Chester told the people at the meeting this was only the second time in the past seven years the board had considered taking such an action. It was “out of incredible concern.” He said the low test scores and other conditions in the city’s schools were “persistent and pervasive." The low performances have been going on for a decade, he added.
He address what he called “misinformation” and said receivership would not mean “mass firings” of teachers.
He explained, “We need to think from ground up. If you’re willing to be part of that effort, I’d welcome you.”
Receivership does not mean the city’s schools would be on the way to some sort of privatization, he added. Nor would it mean that student graduation from the city’s high school would have problems with college accepting their degrees.
Over the next two months there would be a group of stakeholder convened to help guide the creation of a turnaround plan, which would be implemented starting with the school year beginning this fall, Chester said.
During the testimonies, state Rep. Aaron Vega asked the board to give the city two more years for it sown program to make additional change. He asked that if receivership was approved that Paez be selected as the receiver.
Dr. Sonia Correa Pope, principal of the Holyoke Community Charter School, said she would welcome receivership in the city as “local leaders fear change.”
She added, “It’s time to stop arguing and pointing fingers … we have to bring education leaders to the table.”