EASTHAMPTON — Interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda will lead the school district for another year after the School Committee agreed this week to extend her contract by one year, contingent on waivers from the state, in a 6-1 vote.

Committee members commended Binienda’s positive impact on the district this school year and pointed to a need for a slower superintendent search process this time around.

“To me, this is a no-brainer,” said committee member Ben Hersey. “Across the board, the feedback has been, it feels like, 100% positive. … It’s really encouraging to know that we have a real positive person at the head here.

“I do think we need to slow (the superintendent search) down, and this grants us time to space this thing out,” Hersey added.

Committee member Megan Harvey reminded committee members and the public that when searching for an interim superintendent last year, the committee had a lengthy discussion around whether to offer a one- or two-year interim position.

“The way we ended things is that we offered a one-year interim position and acknowledged that there are absolute benefits to accepting an interim to two years … and that we could see how the school year started and how it was going,” Harvey said.

At the last School Committee meeting in November, committee member Laura Scott emphasized a need to give the public time to weigh in on their opinions for a permanent superintendent, following the failed superintendent search and surrounding controversy last spring.

“I still firmly believe the optimal timeline would be for the new School Committee to be seated in January and to take this official vote,” said Scott at this Tuesday’s meeting, adding that while she is in support of extending Binienda’s term, she does not support the timeline. “I am not convinced that the public has a real awareness of what’s going on.”

Chairperson Cynthia Kwiecinski responded, saying, “This is something that the public has known. … We talked about it publicly at repeated School Committee meetings as we brought Superintendent Binienda on board, so I do believe that the public knows.”

Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said that logistically, when it comes to seeking waiver approvals for the contract extension from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the committee will need to demonstrate that it is pushing forward with a permanent superintendent search.

“We will have to show DESE that timeline and our minutes to prove it,” LaChapelle said in support of voting to extend the contract at the meeting.

During public speak time, the two newly elected School Committee members, Linda Markee and Eric Guyette, voiced their support for extending Binienda’s contract, both saying that they have heard from community members that Binienda, who recently won election to the Worcester School Committee, has had a positive impact on the district.

Shawn Sheehan, president of the Easthampton Education Association — the district’s union of teachers, professional staff and paraeducators — also encouraged committee members to vote yes to extending the contract.

“Our interim superintendent has an extraordinary ability to connect with people on a personal level, fostering a positive, inclusive environment within our school community,” Sheehan said. “The superintendent sets the tone in the district, and Maureen has had a positive influence on me and other staff in the district.”

He added, “I’m no longer thinking about retirement but reflecting on why I became an educator and feeling energized and excited to try new teaching methodologies.”

In the end, School Committee members voted in favor of extending the contract, with Scott as the lone dissenting vote.

Next steps for the committee will involve obtaining a waiver from the state and kicking off its next permanent superintendent search in January.

Maddie Fabian can be reached at mfabian@gazettenet.com.