Don’t look now, but Greenfield’s mayor just got a little bit more powerful, and in a way some people never wanted to see.
Greenfield Mayor William Martin was chosen to chair of the school committee at the most recent organizational meeting, replacing Tim Farrell, who chose not to seek re-election to the position. Having a mayor as chair of the School Committee is pretty common in cities, but not Greenfield. In fact, the idea of having the mayor wear two hats was largely squelched during the charter development process.
“It was a question of having too much power in one person’s hands and in one branch of government,” said David Singer, a Charter Commission member and former town councilor. “I believe some felt it akin to having the fox in the hen house.”
The concern was great enough for the Charter Commission to not mandate the mayor head the School Committee, but not enough to preclude he or she from serving in that post if elected by the larger body, which is where we stand now. And it’s a scenario that creates a number of potential political nooks and crannies, beginning with the person who nominated Martin for the job.
When she was serving as school superintendent, Susan Hollins was adamantly opposed to the idea of having the mayor chair the School Committee. But now, as a member of that board, Hollins believes it is not only a good move, but a necessary one, given the relative inexperience of the committee’s current membership.
“We have an unusual situation in that there usually is a member on this committee who has five or 10 years experience, but we don’t have anyone with that level of public administration experience right now,” Hollins said.
The only person who might have come close to fitting that bill would have been Francia Wisnewski, who would have been the natural successor had she not resigned and moved to Montague last year. Hollins also said the chair needs to have a background and some expertise in personnel and legal issues, which she says is crucial when “consulting and conferring” with the superintendent, in this case, her successor Jordana Harper — the same superintendent who saw her proposed operating budget unilaterally cut by $500,000 by this mayor during the last budget cycle.
The committee passed Harper’s full budget, that ended up a half a million lighter than the one the council ended up approving, thanks to Martin. Hollins seems to believe that having the mayor in the chair might change his perspective a bit.
“It’s not in our interest for the mayor to not be more involved in our financial situation,” Hollins said. “I think there would be an advantage for the mayor to have a greater understanding of our negotiations and our financial needs.”
I’m guessing he already does have a pretty good understanding of those issues, but from the town’s perspective. And, right now, the town’s financial picture is pretty solid, and anyone who believes that holding the School Committee gavel will prevent this mayor from maintaining that solidity doesn’t really know Martin.
As for strengthening the school’s negotiating position, people should understand that the School Committee chair also appoints the various subcommittee, including the ones who negotiate contracts. I can’t imagine the various Greenfield Education Association bargaining units are going to be all that thrilled at having the mayor be, effectively, on both sides of the negotiation process at contract time, especially given how contentious those talks have been recently.
While there are a lot of things that could go wrong with this move, there are also potential upsides to having the mayor in that seat. As was proven during the handling of the recent mid-year special education budget gap, good things can happen when the school and town sides work together to solve problems. I think that can continue, provided both sides keep their eyes on the common prize of providing the best possible education for Greenfield students, current and future.
Chris Collins, who worked in local radio in a number of capacities, has observed political life in Franklin County for years. He also is a former staff reporter for The Recorder and a Greenfield native.