Seven of the 12 members of the Pioneer Valley Regional School Committee have their terms ending in November. Only two of those seven are running for re-election on Nov. 6, with six others running for the first time.
Two of the seats are contested. In Northfield, two candidates are running for one seat, and in Bernardston, three candidates are running for two seats.
A public forum with the candidates, hosted by the Franklin County League of Women Voters, will be held Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Valley Regional School. Not all of the candidates have responded yet to invitations to the forum, League President Marie Gauthier said.
Bill Wahlstrom’s term is ending in November and he is not running for re-election. Two candidates are running for his seat. The term will be for four years.
Parker decided to run after attending School Committee meetings for about three years, having been “alarmed at some of the strategies used to manage things.”
Parker works as a teacher at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School, which she says allows her some insight into how schools are run. She has two children who graduated from Pioneer Valley Regional School in 2010 and 2012.
“I feel like I have some familiarity with the issues, with the needs, and where the school was functioning before Ruth (Miller, former superintendent) took over,” Parker said. “I’d like to participate in some healing for the district.”
Kristen Gonzalez is running as a “strong proponent for public education.” She has a child entering the Pioneer district this year as an eighth grader.
“Right now at Pioneer we’re experiencing a lot of struggles,” Gonzalez said. “I want to be a part of the change. We’re at a critical time where we have an opportunity to promote positive change.”
Gonzalez said the School Committee is not cognizant of the impact that its decisions have on students, and that the committee must improve trust with the community. She said that budgetary decisions must be more transparent, and that the committee must work harder at overseeing the district’s administration.
Deb Gilbert and Jeanne Milton’s terms are ending in November, and only Milton is running for re-election. Two other candidates are running as well. Both terms are for four years.
Jeanne Milton has been on the School Committee for three years. She is a school nurse in a different district, which she declined to name to keep her two roles separate.
“I want to see the good things that have started continue to expand, and to explore new avenues to promote student growth, both academically and in numbers,” Milton said.
She mentioned the HEART (Honest Education and Retaining Trust) Committee’s exploration of sharing services with neighboring districts as a project that should continue. She also said that positive changes in the Pioneer district, like the formation of the Sports Boosters, should be better recognized.
Aaron Gerry is running to “help the district progress and not fall back as it is now.”
He and his family moved to Bernardston from Greenfield three years ago. His wife recently left a job as a teacher at Franklin County Technical School, where she had worked for 12 years. They have children in elementary school.
“I’ve got a lot to learn and I’m willing to learn,” Gerry said. “I don’t have any political background. I just hope to be another set of eyes.”
Mike Townsley decided to run to help the district adapt to a shrinking population, and to help with oversight of the district’s administration. He said that in the past, the School Committee failed to follow up on questions it had asked administrators.
Townsley emphasized that as the budget continues to tighten, it will be preferable to close schools rather than cut the district’s course offerings.
“You don’t keep adding to a system with less people,” Townsley said. “If a school has 20 kids in it, realistically that is not economically feasible to maintain.”
Sue O’Reilly-McRae and Martha Morse’s terms are ending in November. O’Reilly-McRae has registered to run for a two-year term, but no one has registered to run for the other seat, which is a four-year term.
O’Reilly-McRae was appointed to the School Committee in March 2017. She said that she thinks some consistency in the School Committee’s membership could help as the district deals with large-scale changes related to dropping enrollments and rising costs.
“I really want to help put the district back on better footing,” O’Reilly-McRae said. “It was distressing to watch for the last few years, with all the challenges.”
She is also a member of the H.E.A.R.T. Committee (Honest Education and Retaining Trust), which is reviewing options for restructuring the district’s administration.
The Warwick Community Education Task Force, previously called the Warwick Community School Preservation Committee, has discussed supporting a write-in candidate, but has not yet found anyone interested in running.
John Rodgers and Peggy Kaeppel’s terms expire in November. Neither is running for re-election. Two candidates are running, so the election will be uncontested unless a write-in candidate comes forward. Both the terms are for four years.
Karen O’Neil is a retired teacher who spent the last 20 years of her 42-year career at Pioneer Valley Regional School. She worked at seven schools total, which she says gives her knowledge of how schools work that would be useful as a School Committee member.
“I know what the major responsibilities of a school committee are,” O’Neil said. “I’ve been able to observe it in action.
Abbi Pratt decided to run to promote creative solutions for the district’s financial issues. Those conversations, she said, have focused mostly on what can be cut, rather than how to increase revenues.
Pratt is involved with the Leyden Education Council, and has a daughter who goes to Pearl Rhodes School.
“There’s so much conversation about short-term solutions. I want to expand that conversation so we’re looking at viability, and not just survival,” Pratt said. “I want there to be someone at the table who isn’t pushing to close the elementary schools.”
Contact Max Marcus at 413-772-0261 ex 261, or mmarcus@recorder.com.