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Mass. school committee offers superintendent job to another candidate following ‘ladies’ controversy
The Easthampton School Committee voted 5-2 on Monday against re-entering negotiations with superintendent finalist Vito Perrone.
Under fire for their decision to rescind a superintendent finalist’s job offer after he used the term “ladies” in a negotiations email, Easthampton school officials voted Monday night to move forward with a different candidate.
The committee extended an offer to Erica Faginski-Stark — currently the director of curriculum and instruction in Ludlow — after voting 5-2 against re-entering negotiations with their first pick, West Springfield Interim Superintendent of Schools Vito Perrone.
Faginski-Stark has accepted the job, pending successful negotiations.
The 'ladies' controversy:
Alarm bells?
Easthampton’s superintendent search went viral this month when Perrone, who also formerly served as a high school principal in the district, announced the rescinded offer. School committee Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski later addressed the controversy, telling the Daily Hampshire Gazette that Perrone’s use of the word “ladies” in an email to her and another woman was only one part of the story. The committee also had concerns about “unreasonable” salary and paid time-off requests Perrone made during contract negotiations, Kwiecinski said.
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“The general feeling was that there were too many concerns before we had even begun negotiating the rest of the contract and alarm bells were going off,” she told the Gazette.
Committee member Laurie Garcia pushed back on Kwiecinski’s assessment during Monday’s public meeting, asserting, “the teachers, students, and parents who have experienced working with him [Perrone] were ringing bells of glee; I didn’t hear any alarms.”
Perrone “was immediately canceled,” Garcia said, describing the incident as a “horrific ordeal” for the western Massachusetts community.
Residents criticize lack of transparency
During public comment, residents critiqued the committee’s decision to revoke Perrone’s offer during a closed-door executive session, arguing that the lack of transparency added fuel to the fire.
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Marissa Carrere, an educator and former Easthampton School Committee member, said the board “acted in disregard of procedure.”
“The vacuum of information that has been created by the committee’s actions has been the biggest driver of this controversy, and that’s precisely why elected representatives are required to take major votes in public, with a posted agenda,” Carrere said.
Easthampton’s new superintendent, she added, will “enter a divided community under local and national scrutiny.”
Speakers also pleaded for civility, noting that public discourse over the superintendent search has taken on a vitriolic tone.
“I think I speak for many people in our community that find the level of anger that has risen on this issue disconcerting, both within the community and without,” Rochelle Prunty said. “What I am hoping is that we can come together as a community to reflect on how the choices in our language can really divide us, and so bitterly.”
While some shared reservations about Perrone, many spoke in favor of the former Easthampton High School principal, questioning whether the school committee was passing up on the best candidate.
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“My fear is that we’re going to potentially get the second-best choice,” Dave Janulewicz said.
Others expressed support for Faginski-Stark, with Kwiecinski noting that the finalist was “shy one vote” in the committee’s initial deliberations.
“This is not what I would consider the second-best candidate,” committee member Megan Harvey said. “I believe this is the most qualified candidate.”
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