NORTHFIELD — Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s Director of Finance Tanya Gaylord plans to work remotely for the upcoming school year, an arrangement the School Committee approved on Thursday.
Gaylord, who recently moved to Florida, said she’ll come back to Franklin County as needed at her own expense. The arrangement has already been approved by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and the School Committee decided to reassess the situation following the 2019 to 2020 school year.
“This was a thought-out planning process to make this work for the district,” Gaylord said. “I didn’t want to leave all the hard work I had put into the district. I wanted to see it through.”
Gaylord moved to Florida in July, after her husband was asked to relocate for work, she said. She will maintain all of the duties and obligations as director of finance under this remote working arrangement.
“Tanya’s intentions are to continue to work for the district,” School Committee Chairwoman Kristen Gonzalez said. “Because she has done such a wonderful job assisting us during our budgeting and dealing with deficit borrowing, DESE recommends we move forward with this plan.”
Superintendent Jonathan Scagel also approved the decision after speaking with DESE representatives.
“They thought this was the best solution,” Scagel said. “We’re going to assess the situation as we proceed, talking with Tanya to continue to see if this is working for her and the district.”
School Committee member David Young said he was originally skeptical of how the arrangement might work, but after some thought, he is confident Gaylord is capable of fulfilling her requirements remotely.
Gonzalez added that she has been pleased with how accessible Gaylord has been while out of state, and how well the situation has played out so far. During Thursday’s meeting, Gaylord announced that the school district is seeing a school lunch surplus for the first time in over a decade.
According to Gonzalez, the committee must now develop and officially approve a memorandum of understanding regarding Gaylord working remotely during an executive session at a later date.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.