Proietti resigns from Greenfield School Committee

AMY PROIETTI

AMY PROIETTI

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

Staff Writer

Published: 03-25-2024 6:02 PM

Modified: 03-25-2024 6:56 PM


GREENFIELD — School Committee member and former Chair Amy Proietti has resigned from the board, just four months after winning a second, four-year term.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as a member of the Greenfield School Committee,” Proietti wrote in an email to the Greenfield Recorder on Monday morning. “I am grateful for the engagement of the community in the work of the committee, the incredible dedication of the GPS leadership team, and all of the staff to creating a safe, welcoming learning environment in the district.”

Proietti declined to comment further on her resignation, which went into effect March 13, and was announced by the School Committee on Monday morning.

According to the city charter, Proietti’s resignation tasks the School Committee with finding and appointing the right candidate to assume her seat until the city’s next biennial election in November 2025.

“Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the office of a School Committee member, the vacancy shall be filled by the remaining members of the School Committee,” the charter states. “Persons elected to fill a vacancy by the School Committee shall serve only until the next regular election at which time the vacancy shall be filled by the voters and the person chosen to fill such vacancy shall forthwith be sworn and shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacated seat.”

After taking office in January 2020, Proietti, who has a 30-plus-year background in education, helped lead the school district through the COVID-19 pandemic and assisted in the hiring of two school superintendents.

In addition to her role on the full School Committee, Proietti also served on numerous subcommittees, such as the Policy and Program Subcommittee. She also represented the School Committee on the Northampton-based Collaborative for Educational Services.

“I’m very grateful to Amy for her hard work on the committee all those years,” School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad said. “Those seats will be vacant for the time being, and we hope to attract some committed, qualified and talented people who can fill those niches that Amy served. The work of the committee will continue and we’ll just pull a little bit more weight in the meantime.”

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Johnson-Mussad said top applicants for Proietti’s now-vacant position will either be interviewed by the committee or be given the opportunity to address the committee with a statement during its next meeting on April 10. He said the committee hopes to see “as broad a pool of candidates as possible” for the position and encourages anyone with an interest in serving on the committee to apply.

“A lot of times when I share with people that I’m on the School Committee, I get a lot of sympathy, but it’s a real opportunity to make a difference and a real chance to connect with a lot of people who really care a lot about the outcomes for our students,” Johnson-Mussad said.

Registered voters who reside in Greenfield have until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, to apply for the School Committee position by sending their letter of interest and resume to Johnson-Mussad at glejoh1@gpsk12.org.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.