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Date: 9/20/2023
HUNTINGTON — New School Committee representatives Alex Seid of Middlefield, Brian Forgue of Chester and Nicole Daviau of Blandford were introduced at the first Gateway Regional School Committee meeting of the 2023-24 school year on Sept. 13. Currently, Chester, Huntington and Russell have three members each on the School Committee, and Blandford and Middlefield have two. Montgomery is the only town with no representative on the committee.
Sarah Page of Russell was nominated and returned as chair of the committee, with Jason Forgue of Chester voted in as vice chair. Representatives also volunteered to serve on the seven subcommittees.
Later in the meeting, Daviau, who is the librarian for the Porter Memorial Library in Blandford, said as a paid municipal employee she was concerned about potential conflicts of interest. She said, for one, she has volunteered to help the librarian at Chester Elementary School. She called the state Ethics Commission, a representative of which said she will be fine as long as she discloses any potential conflicts to the committee.
During public participation, senior Reeghan Morawiec said she had recently been made aware of inequities in AP classes, both financially and the way the credits are applied. The committee voted to put a discussion of the AP classes on the next agenda.
Under new business on the agenda was a proposal by Pegg Dragon of Huntington to include the Pledge of Allegiance at School Committee meetings. During the discussion, Daviau suggested adding it as motion during meetings when appropriate. Lisa Goding of Huntington asked about the exposure to people who may not be religious.
After further discussion, the motion to include the pledge failed, with Dragon, Page and Edward Renauld of Huntington voting in favor; Seid, Tara Balboni and Lindsey Papillon of Russell, and Daviau and Keri Morawiec of Blandford, voting no; and Goding, Jeana Briggs of Chester, and Tasha Strong of Middlefield abstaining.
The committee voted to approve a one-year extension on Superintendent Kristen Smidy’s current contract, which has been adjusted to shift vacation buyback to the salary line. Negotiations on a future contract are ongoing.
Also approved was a one-year contact with Kristen Deschene of Northampton Area Pediatrics as school physician, a state mandate. Smidy said Deschenes will not work at the school buildings, but will be available to approve medication. Smidy and several committee members said how fortunate Gateway is to have an onsite health clinic.
Smidy also spoke about the inclusion of $15 million for rural school aid in the state budget. She said she is concerned about headlines reporting the funds as a big win, when $60 million was the amount the recent report found is needed to bring equity.
Smidy said 181 districts have been identified as rural, including Southwick-Tolland-Granville, and she fears the expanded definition of “rural” will negatively impact Gateway’s share. She said Gateway still does not know how much the district will receive.
Smidy said state Rep. Natalie Blais (D-Sunderland) and state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) suggested sending thank-you notes to the state government for funding the rural school bill.
Jason Forgue said he would love to send a thank-you note, but with a caveat. He said the funding does not mean the towns will be saving money.
“It’s not going to impact the budgets positively, or assessments to the towns,” he said, adding that when the figure of $60 million was determined, it was before recent inflation, and the required amount would probably now be $80 million.
“We have a way to go,” Forgue said.
Joseph Pisani, student representative to the School Committee who also serves as a legislative aide to state Sen. Paul Mark (D-Becket), said he was also asked to write a thank-you to the senate president.
“I think it’s more important to draft an email advocating for the increase,” he said, adding that 25% would be a failing grade. “It’s important to be courteous, but not overly celebrate.”
Smidy also reported on the Barr Foundation grant the school recently received. She said typically, state and federal grants have clear guidelines for spending, but as a private foundation, Barr has given them $100,000 open-ended to collect as much feedback from the community as possible.
She said they have been tasked with asking 90% of students and faculty and 50% of families to envision the best future for Gateway and how to achieve it. She said the foundation will also pay to send administrators on a national tour of innovative schools.
Smidy said the school district will then put together a plan from its research, which will be focused on the high school, Barr’s focus area, but said she will be pulling in the entire school.
“If the plan is approved, they will fund it,” Smidy said, adding that only 3% of administrators get the opportunity to redesign and reimagine what their schools will look like. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my professional career,” she said.
Smidy also credited Curriculum Director Deanna LeBlanc for her work on the grant application. Daviau recommended putting something in the minutes to congratulate LeBlanc for her contribution.
Page said committee members need to rally their communities to participate. Smidy said she is also involving 14 staff members with the logistics.
“This is big,” she said, adding the first grant of $100,00 is to help engage the community.
Daviau recommended providing childcare to get families involved in community meetings.