When voters in Bernardston, Leyden, and Northfield head to the polls on Nov. 3, they’ll have to go in prepared with the names of write-in candidates they want to appoint to the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, as no names will be printed on the ballot.
Pioneer Valley Superintendent Patricia Kinsella wrote in a statement to community members that, due to historical election errors dating back to 2020 and the district missing the ballot deadline, no names will be printed on the November ballot; only write-in candidates will be accepted. The ballot includes write-in spaces for two Bernardston candidates, two Leyden candidates, and one Northfield candidate.
This past summer, the school district was notified by the Secretary of State Elections Division that in 2020 the school district sent the wrong seats to the ballot than were supposed to be up for election per the district agreement. In 2020, the ballot was supposed to list one seat in Bernardston, one in Leyden, and two in Northfield; however, what ended up on the ballot was two in Leyden, one in Northfield, and none in Bernardston. The error carried through the 2022 and 2024 elections, with errors in the number of seats available in Leyden and Bernardston.
“The impact during this election cycle is that two Leyden school committee members — who reasonably thought their seats were in place until 2028 — must now run as write-in candidates,” Kinsella wrote.
The district, working with the Secretary of State, has confirmed that Stephanie Arroyo and Michelle Giarusso, both of Leyden, will need to be reelected, despite being elected for a four -year term just two years ago. In 2024, Giarusso earned 2,389 votes, and Arroyo was elected with 22 votes as a write-in candidate.
Kinsella noted that amid navigating the historical errors, the district also missed the deadline to submit the names of Melissa Gerry, Sharon Fontaine and Reina Dastarous, all of whom had secured the signatures they needed for their candidacy.
“Three district residents, all of whom are sitting school committee members, gathered the required signatures to have their names placed on the November ballot. The district missed the deadline to send the certified names to the state by one day. The names, therefore, were not printed on the ballot,” Kinsella wrote. “The three residents must now run as write-in candidates.”
The district and Secretary of State determined that having two Bernardston seats, two Leyden seats, and one Northfield seat will bring the election cycles back onto the schedule as outlined in the district agreement, and the town moderator in each town will be tasked with appointing a member to fill a remaining vacant seat in each town until the 2028 election.
In 2028, Bernardston should have one seat on the ballot, Leyden should have one seat, and Northfield should have two seats on the ballot.
During the October school committee meeting, School Committee Chair Gerry shared that she and Kinsella met with Michelle Tassinari, First Deputy Secretary, Director, and Legal Counsel, in the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office to develop a plan on how to prevent the errors from occurring in the future.
“So, what we did is there’s a school committee planning calendar that Superintendent Kinsella and I work off… So in February every year, we’re going to confirm possible vacancies for the November elections on election years only,” Gerry said.
A memo included in the school committee packet further explains that during election years the committee will work in February to confirm which seats have expiring terms, then in April will notify the Secretary of State of the vacancies. In May, the open seats and timeline for candidates to submit paperwork will be shared with the public, and in August the district will submit names of certified candidates to the Secretary of State for inclusion on the November ballot.
“On election years, we will just be mindful of this,” Gerry said. “And I think it’s one of those that happened once, and so now it’s on everyone’s radar so that it is embedded within the calendar so it doesn’t happen again.”
Five incumbents, Melissa Gerry (Bernardston), Stephanie Arroyo (Leyden), Michelle Giarusso (Leyden), Sharon Fontaine (Leyden), and Reina Dastarous (Northfield), are all seeking reelection.
Challengers Anna Bassett of Northfield and Gretchen Kelton of Bernardston have also announced their intention to run as write-in candidates.
The Secretary of State advised that, for the school committee election, voters do not need to list the candidates’ addresses, as is usually required for write-in candidates, as long as the name is clear and legible.
