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Date: 5/23/2023
EASTHAMPTON — A convention between the School Committee and City Council met on May 18 to interview eight candidates for the two vacant School Committee seats.
The School Committee is looking to fill vacancies after members Shannon Dunham and Laurie Garcia both resigned from the committee in April in the wake of a turbulent superintendent search. In its first meeting, the convention with the City Council established the guidelines for the interviews as well as deciding to use ranked choice voting to pick the candidates.
To begin the meeting, each candidate was offered five minutes to provide an opening statement. After all the opening statements were made, the convention then asked questions of each candidate.
Candidates were interviewed and asked questions in the order that their application was received.
The first candidate was Sean Bates, a board member for the Easthampton Public Library Association and he discussed why he wanted to be on the committee.
“I don’t want to deal in public shame, I desire to be a part of the change in the makeup of this committee, I want to focus on the task, to do the job and to not adjudicate the past. I want to be on the School Committee to be one of the faces of change in this new Easthampton,” he said.
When looking at a superintendent, Bates said he wanted some one who was “pragmatic and forward thinking,” and has a focus on the people in the schools.
Next up was Sarah Hunter, a former member of the School Committee, who also works for the Department of Developmental Services. She discussed her vision for the future of the schools.
“My vision for our public schools is that they are and remain a place where every child is valued, where everyone’s contributions are appreciated, where employees feel respected and heard, and where children can grow up thinking of themselves as part of a greater whole,” Hunter said. “Students should graduate from 12th grade not just with passing test scores, but with an understanding of themselves as citizens, as changemakers, as critical thinkers and as people whose perspectives have value.”
In terms of a superintendent, Hunter said she wants someone who can balance the needs of the community with the needs of the individual student, as well as someone who is knowledgeable about the state of education in Massachusetts.
Following Hunter, the next candidate was Catherine Wauczinski who has served as a girl scout leader, a soccer coach and as a special education advocator for 30 years. She said that she has also worked as a program director.
“I think it’s really important for families to feel heard and at this moment, lots of families are not feeling heard within this school district and I would like to help that happen both within our school community and our larger communities,” she said.
Wauczinski added that she was looking for an outside candidate to take over as superintendent to look into potential conflicts between teachers and administrators.
Laura Scott, a former School Committee member was up after Wauczinski and she wanted to bring in “steady leadership.”
“This time calls for some steady leadership, experience and an attempt to restore some of the public confidence in public officials and our school administration,” she said. “I think the top two priorities would be the value of our faculty and staff, and the value of all individual learners, their diversity of needs and diversity of strength.”
When it came to the superintendent search, Scott said she was looking for a candidate who was able to “recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and tailor that to our community.”
After Scott was Timothy St. John, a resident of Hendrick Street, and spoke highly of the community in Easthampton, who has been there for him and his family through several difficult situations.
“I am certain we do not always agree on everything, but we do agree on one thing, and that is that love should guide us. These are good people,” he said. “The community that has so selflessly supported my family through so many of our challenges has found itself facing challenges of its own. There’s work to be done here and I would be honored to be part of it.”
St. John said he was looking for “humility and self-awareness” from an interim superintendent.
Next up was Albert Sanchez, a resident of Main Street who said he has been a volunteer in the community working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, a high school substitute teacher and as a veteran.
“I believe that trying to choose a superintendent is going to require a person that has good leadership skills, critical thinking, transparency and all those great qualities that will make that person help lead us into the future,” he said.
In terms of the superintendent search, Sanchez said the most important thing he was looking for from an interim superintendent was the ability to work through and solve problems when they arise.
After Sanchez was Lynda Broadhurst, a member of the superintendent search committee when the district hired Superintendent Alison LeClair. She said her top priority was to ensure that every student was successful and receives the support they need.
“I would want to make sure they are in the correct classes and like with special ed that we have enough teachers and programs, and do whatever it takes. I know there’s budgets and you have to work within them, but I would want to see every child get the support that they needed so once they’re in 12th grade they can graduate and make a life for themselves,” she said.
Broadhurst added that she wanted a superintendent who was “compassionate, caring and is willing to listen and respond to members of the community.”
The final candidate to be interviewed was Louise Jacob, a resident of Holyoke Street who discussed the importance of carefully selecting a superintendent.
“I do think it’s important to choose candidates – when we have to choose the interim superintendent – with the requisite professional competence and experience, but it is equally important to ensure that all children in our schools feel secure, are treated fairly and are able to turn to qualified, unbiased adults when they need support,” she said.
The convention was also slated to interview Heather Brophy, but she was not in attendance for the meeting, however her name will still appear on the ranked choice ballot when the convention votes at its next meeting.
To close the meeting, Council President Homar Gomez asked candidates to reach out to members of the convention and the community.
The convention will make the final votes on the interim School Committee members at a meeting on May 31.