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Date: 2/6/2019
LONGMEADOW – Longmeadow resident and longtime educator Susan Bell was chosen to fill one of the four open seats on the Longmeadow School Committee at a joint School Committee and Select Board meeting on Jan. 31.
Longmeadow Select Board Chair Mark Gold explained at the start of the meeting that the purpose of the joint gathering was to fill one of the vacancies on the School Committee so that the Committee would be able to continue to do regular business, as they would have reached a quorum.
He continued to explain that this meeting would not have formal interviews: the eight individuals who sent in self–nominations would have a chance to speak to the Board and Committee during the public comment portion of the meeting. From there, the Board and Committee would then review the information they had been presented with from the self nomination forms, and subsequently take a vote on who they thought should fill the position.
Gold listed the eight names who submitted self nomination forms: Gerald Douquette, Larry Star, James Ryan, Janet Robinson, Matthew Miranda, W. Timothy Mitchell, James Hench and Susan Bell.
During public comment, Larry Star came before the Select Board and School Committee and shared that he has served on the School Committee in the past, has spent 17 years on the High School Council, was Co–Chair of the Long Range Plan Committee and served on the District Learning Team, among other forms of involvement in the community.
“I think I’d be able to help bring some calming nature to the current situation until we can get a full board elected,” Star closed.
Gerald Douquette came before the board and explained that he only threw in his name in case it was necessary. He stated he would be happy to serve for the weeks necessary, and that his intention was to fill the fourth seat to give the School Committee a quorum, but he was not interested in staying longer than necessary.
During his public comment, James Hench shared that not only was he interested in the four to five week position but also interested in the interim position on the School Committee between now and June. He shared that he has four young boys who are working their ways through the school system, and that he is “very interested in long term with the direction of our schools.”
Continuing, Hench explained he owns an Ameriprise financial business in East Longmeadow, and prior to that, he ran corporate finance for a multi–billion-dollar company with hundreds of employees. He stated he is comfortable appropriating money and with budgeting.
Resident Susan Bell shared with the Select Board and School Committee her extensive background in education, as she formerly held positions as the Superintendent of Schools, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Assistant Principal, Principal and Director of Guidance/School Counseling in the Windsor Locks Public Schools District.
“I think I can bring a lot to the table in this transition period,” she stated. Bell has a third grader at Blueberry Hill Elementary School as well as a soon–to–be kindergartener at Blueberry Hill.
Former School Committee member James Ryan explained to the Board and Committee that he is still an educator.
“[I’m] still working in a place where we are working to address the achievement gap and we are succeeding, working to build out a school,” he shared.
He continued to note that he has also worked as a chairman of a countywide board that had a constituency of roughly a million individuals. Ryan explained that there was a situation that arose where the budget and operating policy had not been adopted on time for about four of five years, and under his chairmanship, it was the first time this policy had been on time.
“This isn’t something I haven’t seen before,” Ryan said.
At the close of public comments, Gold shared his appreciation on behalf of the Board and the town of Longmeadow for all of the well–qualified applicants.
“I read through the letters, I mean these are eight really well–qualified folks. I strongly encourage people to really put their names back in if you’re not selected tonight for a place on the School Committee where you considered applying for the appointment in February. It really is just a very strong pool of people who have come forward and I really can’t thank you enough on behalf of the entire town of Longmeadow, it really is great to see this happen,” Gold stated.
Moving on to Select Board and School Committee discussion, Vice Chair Marie Angelides explained what skills she felt the ideal candidate would hold.
“Someone who understands not only the budgetary process, but sort of knows what a School Committee does, what a Select Board does, Finance Committee, because we’re throwing them right into the middle of the pot. And not just what these committees do, but how they do it in Longmeadow,” she explained.
School Committee member Ryan Kelly shared he is looking for someone with experience.
“Someone who has knowledge about how schools work and how schools operate from top to bottom and how School Committee’s function. It’s really important for us to not have a learning curve,” Kelly related.
Gold said that his focus is on hiring someone who knows school department budgeting as the School Committee controls $36 million dollars of the towns $67 million dollar budget.
While originally the Select Board and School Committee made a motion to have Janet Robinson fill the fourth seat on the Committee, Robinson respectfully withdrew her name from the running as she was hoping the Board would consider having the appointed position be for longer than the remaining five weeks until interviews are conducted.
Following Robinson’s withdrawal, Kelly recommended that Susan Bell fill the position on the School Committee. In a 6–0–1 vote, with Select Board member Richard Foster’s abstention, Bell was named to fill one of the vacancies on the Longmeadow School Committee contingent upon her delivering to the Town Clerk a signed resignation letter designating Feb. 22 as the effective date of her resignation prior to her being sworn in office. Bell was advised to report to the Town Clerk on Feb. 1 to submit her resignation letter and to be sworn into office.
Moving forward, individuals who would like to fill the remaining seats on the School Committee are encouraged to submit nomination forms to the Town Clerks office by Feb. 21 at 12 p.m. The interviews for the open seats are scheduled to take place on Feb. 25. The earliest appointments to those positions would be made on March 1.