EASTHAMPTON — Following a particularly contentious discussion before a virtual audience of nearly 1,000 people Monday night, the School Committee agreed not to reenter into negotiations with superintendent finalist Vito Perrone and instead selected candidate Erica Faginski-Stark.

In a 5-1 vote, the committee chose the Ludlow educator as its next superintendent, pending contract negotiations. The decision came more than two weeks after initially offering the job to Perrone and about 10 days after rescinding that offer in a dramatic saga that garnered national and international attention.

“At the time of our initial vote, Dr. Faginski-Stark was shy one vote … because the vote changed later on does not cast aspersions on the other two candidates,” Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski said at the meeting. “I reiterate that I think that she is best ready to take this on.”

In addition to Kwiecinski, those voting for Faginski-Stark included Ben Hersey, Megan Harvey, Marin Goldstein and Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. Committee member Shannon Dunham dissented, and Laurie Garcia abstained.

During the first vote on March 23, committee members Kwiecinski, Hersey and Harvey voted for Faginski-Stark, citing her “depth and breadth” of expertise and experience working at high-level administrative level positions. Those voting for Perrone at that meeting included Dunham, Garcia, Goldstein and LaChapelle.

“Dr. Perrone was not my choice for superintendent. I have seen nothing in the past week — two weeks — that changes my mind about any part of that,” Harvey said.

Faginski-Stark is currently the director of curriculum and instruction at Ludlow Public Schools, and was one of three candidates vying to replace Superintendent Allison LeClair, who will retire in June. The committee also interviewed Jonathan Bruno, the director of learning and teaching at Berkshire Hills Regional School District in Stockbridge. Before Ludlow, Faginski-Stark worked as director of curriculum and instruction and principal at South Hadley Public Schools.

Controversy erupts

Public interest in the superintendent search process extended far beyond Easthampton after Perrone told the Gazette that the committee had rescinded its initial offer in executive session on March 30. Perrone alleged that the committee changed its mind after he addressed Kwiecinski and Suzanne Colby, executive assistant to the committee, as “Ladies” in an email.

Kwiecinski later countered that there was more to the story, adding that his salary-related demands were “unreasonable” and that the committee was troubled by his lack of response to the job offer late at night and his explanation after trying to reach him through various forms of contact.

In the week that followed Perrone’s announcement, residents took to social media questioning the process and rallying for the School Committee to reconsider. A protest with more than 150 people was held and an online petition to recall the entire School Committee garnered more than 1,000 signatures.

School Committee members were slated to discuss the search last week, but the meeting was canceled and rescheduled to Monday after the Zoom session had reached its limit of 300 participants.

To ensure that the technology used during the meeting could support a wider participation, LaChapelle requested the city’s Information Technology Department host the meeting rather than the school department’s IT department, according to Karin Moyano Camihort, director of the IT department.

With Moyano Camihort’s help, the meeting had a capacity to host up to 10,000 active participants. A total of 980 people attended the meeting, with a couple participating from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom.

“Additionally, we advised residents who were only tuning in to view the meeting and did not plan on speaking as panelists to tune into the e.media YouTube channel instead. This was done to manage the number of active participants and ensure a smooth and seamless meeting experience for everyone involved,” she said in a statement.

As advertised, the committee on Monday provided 90 minutes for comments related to the superintendent search and more than 30 people took advantage of it.

While several voiced support for Perrone and advocated for the committee to reconsider its decision, a handful of others expressed reasons why they thought he wouldn’t be a good fit.

Whether in favor of Perrone or against, the majority of attendees speaking, including resident Ilise Dempesy, questioned the process. An Easthampton educator for a decade, Dempesy said she always follows the decisions made by the administration and the School Committee, even if she doesn’t agree. The search for a new superintendent broke her trust in the system, she said.

“I trusted the process,” Dempesy said. “I went to the meet and greets. I watched and attended interviews, I really would have been OK with whichever candidate was chosen. I’m here tonight in hopes that you can shed light on this. I want to understand and move forward in a positive way.”

Emotions run high

When it was time for the committee to begin its portion of the meeting, member Garcia read a prepared statement that detailed what happened, from her perspective, the night the committee offered the job to Perrone as well as specifics from an executive session held the following week.

Part of the way through her statement, Kwiecinski reminded Garcia that she was only allowed to discuss information that Perrone disclosed to the public.

“We are not here to talk about anything else that has not been put out by Dr. Perrone, and you are starting to share information that some of it is a little incorrect,” Kwiecinski said.

A brief back and forth ensued about what was legally allowed to be said and what was not. Garcia refuted a statement that Kwiecinski issued to the Gazette about “alarm bells” going off about Perrone, saying that she did not hear those “so-called alarm bells.”

In a Tuesday interview with the Gazette, Garcia discussed was she chose to abstain from the vote to offer Faginski-Stark the position.

Though the district was presented with three solid candidates for superintendent, she said preferred Perrone, along with many of her constituents. Not only did he win the vote after vigorous deliberations by the committee, albeit by a narrow margin, but he was also selected as the highest-ranking candidate by the faculty, students and administrators who met all three candidates, Garcia said.

“My abstention was not a vote against the candidate, but a refusal to participate in the process by which the School Committee brought about the vote in the first place,” Garcia said. “Nevertheless, as the second-ranked candidate, she is more than capable of bringing our district forward. I wish her luck, and appreciate her willingness to enter this chaos.”

While committee members weighed in on the candidates after deciding not to go forward with Perrone, several reflected on the process and how they might consider doing it differently in the future. Member Goldstein said that while the committee moved rather quickly with the process, it was done with the best intentions.

“We were trying to make the best decision for our community, including the wellness visit,” said Goldstein, referring to the night of March 23 when Easthampton police checked on Perrone at his Westhampton home after he did not answer a late-night phone call made to offer him the job.

“It was not trying to scare somebody. It was not trying to hurt somebody. And yet, things happen, consequences happen based on decisions that we make. And we have to own that as a committee, we did make that decision to proceed with that.”

Hersey and Harvey also reflected how in the past week the police had showed up to both of their respective homes stating that they had become a target of threats.

“It’s terrifying as a parent, and it’s really difficult to explain to a child why that (police presence) would have been required and why we continue to have ongoing presence in our neighborhood,” Harvey said.

Goldstein acknowledged the intense outpouring of emotion over the last week. He said the committee was doing the best that they could for the schools, students and their families, and that it was unfortunate that anyone would question their intentions. He also said Perrone was unprofessional in the way he engaged the committee, especially after the decision to rescind his job offer.

“No, he’s not responsible for the threats that were made against our committee members. But he is responsible for starting the sort of spiraling out of control,” Goldstein said.

Perrone responds

In the days after the committee rescinded his job offer, Perrone obtained legal representation from Northampton attorney James B. Winston. Before Monday’s meeting, Winston submitted a letter to the School Committee on behalf of Perrone indicating that he was still interested in the superintendent position.

After hearing that the committee chose a different candidate, Perrone said in a statement from Winston that while he appreciates the dedication and efforts of the committee, he was “disheartened, saddened and disappointed” with their decision.

“Additionally, I steadfastly question the legitimacy of the process. I am considering all of my options going forward, but I must say where there could have been learning and growth now there is just discord, and that is a direct consequence of the manner in which the offer was rescinded, the flawed rationale behind it, and the disingenuous letter communicating it,” Perrone said.

Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.]]>