NORTHAMPTON — A seasoned educator with a long history of involvement in the Northampton schools is hoping to retain the Ward 6 seat on the School Committee he’s occupied since April.
Before he decided to run for School Committee, Lonnie Kaufman, 56, of Cardinal Way, served in numerous volunteer positions in the city’s schools while his children, Dylan and Madison, moved from Ryan Road Elementary to JFK Middle School and Northampton High School. Some of those positions included a six-year run on the Ryan Road School Council, followed by three years on the NHS Council. He served as co-chairman of both bodies.
After his children graduated, Kaufman took a step back from his engagement with the schools, but the opening of the Ward 6 seat last spring gave him the opportunity to step back into the arena.
“It was perfect timing for me to get, I would say, re-engaged with the schools,” he said.
Kaufman also said that he would have run earlier, but that Ward 6 had an excellent representative at the time in Lisa Minnick, who served on the committee for 25 years.
Kaufman said that he consults with Minnick about many committee issues.
“She has a historical knowledge that is fantastic,” he said.
Minnick chose not to seek re-election in 2015, and was succeeded by Tom Baird, who resigned this year after moving to Connecticut. In April, a joint meeting of the School Committee and the City Council selected Kaufman over Thomas Davidson to complete the rest of Baird’s term.
Kaufman and Davidson will square off once again at next Tuesday’s municipal election.
Kaufman heads his own education consulting business, and before that worked for the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an educational researcher. He also served as a classroom teacher, school counselor and program coordinator in a public education career that began more than 30 years ago. His wife, Erika Frank, is a preschool specialist for Northampton public schools.
Kaufman said that h
“I’m ready to capitalize on that,” he said.
Asked about the biggest challenges facing Northampton schools, Kaufman noted the increasing number of students with disruptive behavioral issues.
“This is a very difficult challenge,” he said.
He expressed hope that the implementation of a new co-teaching model, which places two educators in a classroom and allows for special needs students to be integrated into classrooms with their peers, will also serve to reduce disciplinary referrals to the office, as it will create a smaller adult-to-student ratio.
Kaufman also wants to focus on making sure educators are in the best position to flourish, and cited the importance of a positive school culture and great school leaders. He also talked about the importance of communication between teachers and parents and between teachers and administrators.
He said that the schools are in a good place in Northampton.
“It is a great environment to teach (in),” he said, adding that he’d like to sustain that.
In terms of challenges, he noted teacher pay, which he said is lower than many surrounding districts and in Connecticut.
“The education reform model has not helped us,” he said.
He expressed an openness to raising salaries if more money from the state, money from gambling, or additional revenue becomes available.
On the dispute between the School Committee and the Northampton Association of School Employees over the paid release of the union’s president, and how much the union will have to pay in order for its president to take a leave of her teaching duties so that she can work for the union full time, Kaufman said that he is confident that an agreement will be reached on the complicated and emotional issue.
“I hope so,” said Kaufman, when asked if he thought the dispute would be settled this year.
He also expressed hope for an enhanced relationship between labor and management in Northampton.
“If it could happen anywhere it could happen in Northampton,” he said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com