CHARLEMONT — Close to a hundred members of the Hawlemont Regional School District community came together Tuesday night — virtually and in person — hoping for answers to their questions about everything from disciplinary issues to the future of the elementary school.
The forum, held in the gymnasium at Hawlemont Regional School, was moderated by Massachusetts Association of School Committees Executive Director Glenn Koocher. Hawlemont School Committee Chair Hussain Hamdan and School Committee members Beth Flaherty, Suzanne Crawford and Michael Walsh were present, with members Charlie Ricko and James Walsh absent.
“We have several districts in Massachusetts right now where there is great tension between the school committee and the superintendent, and we often get involved in these situations,” Koocher noted. “We approach this by assuming everybody is a person of good faith who wants to make it work.”
The forum comes during a time of ongoing criticism by staff, faculty and residents upset with the Hawlemont School Committee’s treatment of school staff members and its handling of the relationship with the Mohawk Trail Regional School District. Mohawk Trail School Committee members have expressed hesitance to renew the two-district agreement, which is set to expire June 30, without a reorganization of Hawlemont’s School Committee.
“There are certainly times when meetings have been contentious and members of central office and Hawlemont staff have not been treated respectfully,” said Flaherty, responding to a question asking whether staff and administrators had been treated with “disrespect or ignored” by School Committee members.
Flaherty added that she wished she could apologize more publicly for the way that those who “champion our students” were treated in past meetings. Hamdan agreed.
“It’s for that I’m most sorry,” Flaherty said.
A majority of the questions, 108 of which were submitted before the meeting on Tuesday night, pertained to the future of the school and the two-district agreement, and the relationship between the School Committee, school staff and the community.
Heath resident Liz Lafond, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees field director who represents Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin county school districts, prefaced the discussion Tuesday by referencing conversations that began late last year about the possibility of Hawlemont joining the Northern Berkshire School Union.
“It’s a one- to two-year process that is currently on hold, so we will not address that today,” Lafond said, reading a statement responding to questions the committee received regarding the prospect.
Answering a question that asked when the community will know what will happen on July 1 — recognizing the stress that “not knowing that causes family, student and staff” — Hamdan said he believes a decision for how to proceed “ought to be decided by the beginning of May.”
He noted that in addition to a negotiation subcommittee established to work with the Mohawk Trail School Committee on the potential of renewing the agreement, the committee also has interviewed two candidates to fill a potential role as an independent superintendent. The search committee will meet again on March 31 to review whether it can come to a recommendation before bringing it to the full committee in April.
“If we were up against the wall in terms of negotiating something with Mohawk Trail … then some kind of interim solution, in other words hiring one of these candidates, is going to need to happen for the next fiscal year,” Hamdan said.
Mohawk Trail/Hawlemont Superintendent Sheryl Stanton added that as far as she is concerned, the Hawlemont district is still working “to make sure that children here are receiving a high-quality education.”
“There is no doubt that this uncertainty has strained and stressed staff, and staff are looking to make decisions they would not normally be making,” Stanton said. “There do need to be decisions made, mindful of these deadlines and decisions people have before them.”
School Committee members also responded to questions about what would happen if the elementary school closed.
“I hope it doesn’t have to close,” said Hamdan, a sentiment that was reiterated by members of the committee repeatedly Tuesday night. “If it did have to close, the only true alterative would be to send the students, pursuant to a tuition agreement, to another school in the area.”
When asked by a parent in the audience where, specifically, students would be sent, Hamdan said those conversations haven’t been had with area districts.
One question posed at the forum was directed at Scott Purinton, a member of the Mohawk Trail School Committee who was in the audience. The question sought his committee’s perspective on the two-district agreement.
“The problem is, we at Mohawk need a partner with the same vision, agenda and appreciation for central offices we have,” he said.
Purinton said the difference in opinion and approach between the two committees — both in relation to the committee’s role and the way it treats staff and administrators — wasn’t worth the possibility of losing administrators, including special education directors, business managers and other staff in the district.
“To move forward, we at Mohawk need Hawlemont to understand our … interpretation of Massachusetts General Law and (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) guidelines,” Purinton said. “That’s a lot of the reason we’re here. We have one understanding — I’m not saying Hawlemont’s is wrong — but their interpretation of these guidelines is different than ours.”
Purinton relayed that the Mohawk Trail School Committee had moved forward with its budget, noting it doesn’t include Hawlemont as part of its central office. He added that he believes what the Hawlemont district gets from the two-district agreement is “a steal” for $187,000.
“That $187,000, we have absorbed in our budget,” he said. “Mohawk is in great shape … and that includes adding the $187,000.”
Regarding the recent calls for a collective resignation of the entire Hawlemont School Committee, Crawford — acknowledging Michael Walsh’s previous statement to suggest he does not plan to resign in advance of the spring elections — said doing so wouldn’t change anything if not all members agreed. Flaherty and Hamdan, both of whom have terms ending in May, have said they don’t plan to run for reelection.
“I’m very happy to step down and run again if the voters of Hawley feel that I can bring something productive to my role here,” Crawford said. “It gives the people of Hawley a chance to vote and decide who they would like to be on the School Committee.”
Before the close of the meeting, Chris Geier, a district parent from Charlemont, expressed frustration with the turnout of Hawlemont School Committee members.
“How are we, as community members, to take this effort seriously, if the entirety of the School Committee members won’t show up?” Geier said. “This school is facing some serious, serious challenges and there’s an honest possibility it will close. … I hope, after tonight, there will be some change in mindset on the committee, but this meeting has not made me any more confident than I was before.”
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.