GREENFIELD — Residents trickled into the polling location at Greenfield High School on Tuesday to weigh in on which School Committee candidates should advance to the biennial election in November.
City Clerk Kathy Scott said voter turnout for Tuesday’s preliminary election was less than 2% as of 10 a.m. By 2:45 p.m., Scott said that number had increased to 4.65%, which is still low when compared to turnout in previous years. In 2019, the preliminary election saw a 9.3% turnout by noon on Election Day, per Greenfield Recorder archives.
“Before work and after work are usually busier. We did have a few people in line to vote at 7 a.m., and they were in and out real quick, because it’s a good time,” Scott said at around 11 a.m. “This is the local election. This is where your vote affects your daily life.”
The city held the preliminary election in an effort to narrow down the seven School Committee candidates running for four-year seats in the Nov. 4 biennial election. The top six vote-getters will move on to the biennial election.
Residents Pamela Goodwin, Jeffrey Diteman and Adrienne Craig-Williams are competing with Public Safety Commission Chair David Moscaritolo and At-Large City Councilor Michael Terounzo for three seats with four-year terms. Two of those seats are currently held by School Committee members Melodie Goodwin and Elizabeth DeNeeve, who are both seeking to retain their positions.
Additionally, resident Melissa Webb is running for a two-year term on the School Committee but, as she is unopposed, her position was not on Tuesday’s ballot. The two-year term will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Diteman, Craig-Williams and DeNeeve have been running a cooperative campaign, otherwise known as a slate, and previously received an endorsement from the local political advocacy group Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution.
Although they did not form a slate, candidates Moscaritolo, Terounzo, Pamela Goodwin and Melodie Goodwin have all expressed goals of increasing transparency in the School Department and implementing responsible financial practices.
On July 31, Scott said there were 13,412 registered voters in Greenfield. She said Tuesday morning that she believes that number has grown slightly over the past month.
Among those casting their ballots Tuesday was former Mayor Roxann Wedegartner, who declined to say who she voted for, but said combatting absenteeism and driving student engagement are among the more important issues facing the school district. Wedegartner also served on the School Committee during her time as mayor.
“People talk about student engagement and declining enrollment, and I think the declining enrollment piece is really, really important. We have this beautiful high school. Most of our buildings are in good shape, but Greenfield is a great place to send your kids to school,” Wedegartner said. “We need to find out why people are leaving and, to the best of our abilities, get honest answers and then try to do something about it. … I want to see the School Committee do their part within their responsibility to help with declining enrollment.”
The majority of those approached leaving the polling location at Greenfield High School declined to discuss who they voted for. However, resident David Kemp said he voted for Goodwin, Moscaritolo and Terounzo, hoping that the three candidates would focus on core curriculum education in the school system.
Resident Danette Wadman said she hopes the School Committee will work to drive student engagement and combat truancy. She voted for Melodie Goodwin given her extensive background in education. Goodwin previously said she has been an educator for 42 years, having worked as a teacher, principal and director of curriculum.
“I just like everything Melodie stands for,” Wadman said. “Her background is so extensive and she knows what is needed to get our kids in school and get them educated.”
School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad said he voted for the three candidates in the slate out of both “hope and fear,” clarifying that three of the other four candidates — Moscaritolo, Terounzo and Goodwin — either voted against or publicly expressed views against the School Department’s proposed $1.8 million budget increase back in the spring, which would have ensured level funding for the current fiscal year.
“I was voting both my hopes and my fears. [The slated candidates] have put forward a positive vision for investing in the schools,” Johnson-Mussad said. “The other candidates have expressed views against funding a modest increase for the schools.”
