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Date: 4/7/2021
GRANBY – The principal of the Granby Junior Senior High School and the principal of a Springfield elementary school were announced as the final two candidates for the position of district superintendent during the Granby School Committee on March 30.
The meeting began with an update regarding the reopening process. Interim Superintendent Carol Hepworth gave a summary of the last meeting, which ended with the committee discussing not just returning kindergarten students through fifth grade students, but also pre-k students and sixth graders to full in-person learning five days a week.
The committee then made a motion, which was unanimously approved, for students in pre-K through sixth grade to start in person learning five days a week on April 5. Following the approval, they unanimously passed a second resolution that would allow seventh and eighth graders to begin school for four days a week at the high school on April 5. The group would have two remote Wednesdays and would begin in-person learning five days a week beginning April 26.
The committee then discussed when the high school students would begin learning in person five days a week. High School Principal Stephen Sullivan said he felt confident that it would be possible for the students to begin learning again in person on April 26, but were waiting on guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) “to see if anything changes.” The committee decided ultimately that they would discuss the return of students in grades nine through 12 at their next meeting on April 5.
Committee member Jill Pelletier then went on to give an update regarding the search for the district’s next superintendent and announce the two finalists for the position. She said the district had received a total of 18 applications for the position, 11 of which were brought forth as candidates to the committee. She said from there seven semi-finalist interviews had been conducted with the interviews concluding on March 24. Ultimately, she said the search was narrowed down to Dr. Elizabeth Bienia and Sullivan.
Pelletier gave highlights for each candidate, beginning with Bienia who currently is serving as principal of the Glickman Elementary School in Springfield. She also previously served as assistant principal in the Gateway Regional School District with her career beginning as an early childhood educator and teacher. Additionally, Bienia serves as an adjunct professor and “has published on a variety of critical education topics,” Pelletier said.
Pelletier then moved on to Sullivan, who is known to the district. She highlighted that he is currently serving as the principal of the Granby Junior Senior High School, where he had been serving since 2017. Previously, she said, he had been both a principal and assistant principal at Holyoke High School with his educational career beginning as an English Language Arts teacher.
Two of the final steps of the process, Pelletier noted, were visits for the home districts of the candidates and opportunities for the candidates to visit the Granby district, including a visit with a public community group. Additionally, Pelletier said the School Committee would have the opportunity to conduct and interview with each finalist during a meeting. The committee discussed several potential dates for the candidates home district visits, but Hepworth said she was worried the timeline was too tight to be able for candidates to host a visit in their home district and visit the Granby district in time for April 14. Pelletier said she was also worried as there needed to be time to advertise for virtual community meetings where members of the public got to meet the candidates.
The committee decided that depending on candidates’ availability they have their home district visit virtually anytime from April 2 to April 9 and would visit the Granby school in person on April 8, April 12 or April 13. The committee also decided that the candidates’ interviews before the school committee would take place on April 15.
Pelletier said the public meeting where members of the community would be able to meet the candidates would take place during the evening following the candidates’ visit to Granby. She added that she had discussed the possibility of an anonymous survey following the meet and greet with the public to get feedback.
The committee then went on to discuss the FY22 budget. When going over a budget overview it was noted that categories where funding had gone down included Chapter 70 revenue which was tied to enrollment numbers, required local contribution, town allocation and state/local revenue. Ultimately, it was shown there was a funding gap of $2,465,586 that the district needed “to solve for using grants and revolving funds.” It was explained that the gap had been increasing for several years, but with some district projects and increased technology needs. When reviewing the district’s revolving funds and grants, it was noted that the district was anticipating funding from a third stimulus package, but they didn’t know how much money they would get or when it would be available. Additionally, funding and grants were reviewed, totalling in $1,773,662, which would be used to “offset that funding gap.”
After everything the district was projected to have a deficit of $691,924. However, it was emphasized that there was still work being done on the budget to close the gap.