SUNDERLAND — Residents will take to the polls on Saturday, May 2, to vote on an $800,000 override and decide who will be victorious in a four-way race for two Sunderland Elementary School Committee seats.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sunderland Public Library.
$800,000 override
After an overwhelming majority of Annual Town Meeting voters supported the override, which would raise fiscal year 2027 property taxes by 10.7% — 8.2% above the limit of 2.5% set by Proposition 2½ — last weekend, voters must now affirm the override through a corresponding ballot question at the local election.
A failed override would leave the school with a flat budget, or no increase, from the current fiscal year, requiring the elimination of art, music and library programs, as well as a school adjustment counselor, an instructional assistant and a math interventionist, according to Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts’ Superintendent Darius Modestow.
A failed override would also threaten the library’s certification through the state Board of Library Commissioners and halt all programs paid for by the library, such as summer concerts, music classes, arts and crafts workshops, outdoor programs and guest lectures.
The override budget also accounts for Sunderland’s share of the South County Senior Center’s FY27 budget request of $125,751, which includes the cost of relocating to the 12,150-square-foot office building at 112 Amherst Road.
Beyond these areas, a failed override would lead to reduced services across departments, including gaps in police coverage, summer help for the Highway Department, and the purchase of per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS)-free equipment for the Fire Department.
Elementary School Committee race
In the only contested race on the ballot, incumbents Joseph Elias and Amanda Wygant, as well as new candidates Robert Powell and Heather Potyrala, are running for two available seats on the Sunderland Elementary School Committee, both with three-year terms.
Joseph Elias
A lifelong educator, Elias, 58, first started teaching as a student teacher in college. After forming many connections with students, his plan of pursuing a career in finance faded.
“By the end of the year, I was like, ‘This is what I want to do,'” Elias said. “I like helping holistically educate [kids], not just the academics, but also the social-emotional.”
Although Elias retired from teaching in 2022, he plans to return to tutoring in the future. He has been involved in several corners of the community, serving on the Frontier Regional School Committee, the Collaborative for Educational Services and South County Mass in Motion. He has also coached several sports at both Frontier and Sunderland Elementary.
“When I walk into this elementary school, there’s always dozens of kids that say, ‘Hey coach’ or ‘Hey Joe,'” Elias said.
If reelected to the committee, Elias plans to support committee Chair Jessica Corwin’s advocacy demanding an increase in state funding for rural schools, increase awareness of the benefits of School Choice students attending Sunderland Elementary, and continue to be a trusted ear for minority students and families from other countries to share their concerns while also helping to empower them.
“Sometimes they feel they’re not in the majority, but it’s not about that; it’s about what their kid needs and what we can do for their kid,” Elias said. “Having these connections outside of school bridges the gap.”
Amanda Wygant
Incumbent Wygant joined the School Committee three years ago after serving on the Parent-Teacher Organization. While attending meetings virtually during the start of the pandemic, she decided to get more involved.
“As I saw how beautifully our School Committee members of that time handled everything … I really held them in a great regard for balancing it all and hearing it all and being so involved in our community,” said Wygant, whose daughter attends the school. “I wanted to, of course, have another way to give back.”
As a consultant who worked at the now-defunct Executive Education Department at Smith College, Wygant, 48, said, “My life and career has been about discovery — understanding processes, understanding the reasons behind decisions, looking at all factors, not just what’s right in front of you, but how this might cascade and impact eight different areas.”
With three years of experience on the School Committee, Wygant believes she is equipped with “a great foundation of understanding” for a second term.
If reelected, Wygant said she plans to support Corwin’s call for increased state aid for rural schools, remain involved in advocacy surrounding “avenues that will help us continue to provide the educational experiences that we want for our kids” and continue listening to residents’ concerns.
“I love being part of what makes our community good for the kids. Part of why I love being in sports is I get to hear from the kids,” said Wygant, who also coaches the Frontier Recreational Softball League. “At the end of the day, that’s what we’re doing this for is to give these educational opportunities to our community in the best way that we can.”
Heather Potyrala
Potyrala, the radiology department supervisor at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, is also a parent of a student at the school.
“I cannot speak highly enough of these teachers and the staff that they have there,” Potyrala, 41, said.
At her daughter’s basketball practice, Potyrala noticed the basketball hoops were not adjustable, leaving students as young as kindergartners using adult-size basketball hoops. For Potyrala, the issue represented one of several incidents when she was “concerned about administrative oversight and how things are run at the school.”
Potyrala said she reached out to the school’s principal and administration, but “nobody could answer anything” and she was advised to “get more involved.”
If elected to serve on the School Committee, Potyrala plans to “take a careful look at how the money at the school is being spent” and the school’s priorities.
“I know that change is hard, but sometimes it’s better to get an outside perspective because you may not be aware of what is out there,” she said.
Beyond an “outside perspective,” Potyrala said she would also bring expertise in “planning and prioritizing” to discussions.
If elected, she hopes to clear obstacles to information that she said she has experienced and help include parents in conversations.
“As a parent, when I’m asking questions at the school, I’m being told it’s none of my business, and I feel like, as a taxpayer and someone with kids in the school, some of these things are my business,” she said. “In general, the district needs to be more transparent with the residents about how money is being spent and where the needs are.”
Robert Powell
Powell, another parent at the school who is running for a School Committee seat for the first time, got “a close-up view of what that work looked like” through his husband, Chris White, a former Frontier School Committee member.
Powell works as director of family ministries and connections at Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield.
“I am really grateful to do work that says, ‘No, being kind really matters. Enjoying a beautiful day really matters. These are good, precious things,'” Powell, 39, said.
As the parent of a student with “high needs” and “a really positive relationship” with the school, Powell said this perspective “lets [him] see the strength in what makes this such a precious and special place.”
He decided to run for a committee seat to support the school’s ability to continue providing students at the school with a similar positive experience.
“I have a kid who has greatly benefited from being a part of the Sunderland Elementary School community, and it feels like a responsibility to say, ‘How can I be of service to support all the things that have been so beneficial for my kid and to ensure that they stay in place for all of the kids and families of Sunderland?”
If elected, as a new member of the committee, Powell plans to “listen and learn at the beginning” and “go in with an open heart and open mind.”
Other positions on the ballot
- Selectboard, three-year-term — Dan Murphy, incumbent.
- Planning Board, five-year term — Gabrielle Kurth, incumbent.
- Assessor, three-year term — Jennifer Unkles.
- Board of Health, three-year term — Bruce Bennett, incumbent.
- Frontier Regional School Committee, three-year term — Allison Dean.
- Moderator, one-year term — Thomas Fydenkevez Jr., incumbent.
- Riverside Cemetery trustee, three-year term — Janet Sawyer-Bergeron, incumbent.
- Sunderland Public Library trustees, three seats with three-year terms — Molly Gowa, Kristyn Korpita and Valerie Voorheis, all incumbents.
