EASTHAMPTON — The eight candidates vying for six seats on Easthampton’s School Committee spent 90 minutes Sunday night sharing their visions on how to best support students and discussing the committee’s broader role within city government.
The candidates are incumbents Laura Scott, Megan Ward Harvey, Linda Sue Markee, Sam Hunter and Eric Guyette, challenged by Bonnie Atkins, Allison Malinowski and Paul McNeil. The only incumbent not seeking reelection is Timothy St. John.
The forum held at Easthampton High School sought to give voters a chance to hear from candidates ahead of municipal elections scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Moderators Dan Rist and Katya Schapiro read an introduction for each candidate, followed by candidates answering questions in alternating order, submitted from the public.
Introductions
Atkins is a social worker and advocate for public education, having lived in Easthampton since 2006, with a 10th grader currently attending Easthampton High School (EHS). Having a background in behavioral therapy, she has expertise working with suicidal teens, helping run a treatment program to provide aid to them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Atkins’ mother, a fourth-grade teacher, always said public education is at the root of democracy, a statement with which she fully agrees.
Guyette is a sixth-grade teacher with 18 years of experience in public education, having served the past two years on the School Committee. With two children in Easthampton Public Schools (EPS), he hopes to make the schools the best they can be for his and all children. He is proud to have been a part of the hiring process of Superintendent Michelle Balch, and feels Easthampton has seen positive change following the construction of EHS and Mountain View School.
Harvey is running for her third, consecutive term on the committee, serving as the secretary and chair of the finance subcommittee. She is a mother of three children in the district and a member of the Public Health and Health Sciences faculty at Springfield College. Her favorite part about her work on the committee is connecting with families, especially students, helping to elevate their voices.
Hunter is running for his third term on the committee, currently serving as the chair of the policy subcommittee. A father to a fourth grader at Mountain View, Hunter has lived in Easthampton for about 12 years. His top priorities are special education, alleviating child poverty and responding to the federal government’s threat to public education. He works as a state employee for the Department of Developmental Services where he coordinates a family support program.
Malinowski is teacher and a parent of two young children. She said she is running for School Committee to ensure every student, teacher and staff member feels safe, supported and able to succeed. She believes in strong community partnerships, open communication and responsible budgeting that reflects all shared values. She hopes to contribute to strengthening Easthampton schools and to create a culture of care, inclusion and collaboration, having been a voice in the education community.
Markee is running for her second term on the committee, bringing a lifelong passion for public education and deep roots in the Easthampton community. With a grandchild currently attending EHS, and another who recently graduated, she said she cares about the success of the district. As a former educator, Markee is committed to ensuring every child feels heard, supported, and has equitable access to the knowledge and opportunities necessary to thrive.
McNeil is a public health prevention specialist with a background in youth development and substance-use prevention across New England, bringing an understanding of how schools can support children academically, socially and emotionally. As a parent of a third grader at Mountain View and a kindergartener, McNeil is passionate about fostering safe, inclusive and engaging learning environments where every student feels supported to reach their potential.
Scott has lived with her family in Easthampton for nearly 20 years, with two children as part of the district — one graduating this past spring and one attending EHS. She first joined the committee in 2013 serving for two terms, before leaving and rejoining in 2023. As a former educator, Scott is committed to protecting and improving public education, viewing it as a foundation to a free society. She is exceedingly proud of the work of the committee during her past term, having made crucial, collaborative decisions.
Top priorities, responses
Candidates were first asked about their top priorities, followed by thoughts on special education, behavioral challenges of students, differences between the elementary and middle school, cellphone policy and broader visions.
Answers were consolidated and are presented in reverse order of the introductions. Full video will be available on the Easthampton Media website and YouTube channel.
Scott said the first priority the committee needs to consider is focusing on balancing the budget, a challenging issue approaching swiftly. Decisions with the budget largely depend on future federal and state funds, which will require the committee to figure out how this will change the budget at a municipal level. Other large priorities include improving family satisfaction, lowering costs of transportation, and expanding pre-K offerings.
“I would love to continue to press toward expanding those offerings which not only generate revenue for the district, but also introduce kids to our Mountain View campus and into the multi-generational community at large,” she said.
When asked about cellphones, Scott said this needs to be considered by each district according to its needs. For example, a district such as EPS asks families with students aged 12 and above, living within two miles of the school, to find a way to get to school and back. That may require communication with parents in the middle of the day, along with other students that need phones for services. Data and input from the community is essential when deciding policy, she said.
McNeil said he wants to join the positive energy and momentum of the good work that is already happening on the committee, referencing the pride and care current members show toward supporting EPS students. McNeil wants to expand learning opportunities, including world language and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education), hoping to help create inclusive and welcoming schools.
“I want to keep building on the good work that’s already happening in Easthampton,” he said. “My priorities center on expanding learning opportunities, supporting our educators and ensuring that every student feels seen, heard and valued for exactly who they are.”
McNeil said behavioral challenges are a signal that show if students needs are being met or not. He referenced the book, “The Explosive Child” by Ross Greene, that highlights the goal isn’t to control children’s behavior but rather it’s to understand what is getting in the way and how can that child’s skills can be developed to help them.
Markee said her top priority is dealing with the near crisis of the loss of funding. Services need to be protected during future budgeting and children cannot be impacted, she said. Markee is proud of her time on the policy and finance subcommittees, having contributed to passing a level-services budget with zero layoffs.
“That’s our first priority. To maintain essential student services and programs, and we must look at every line item on the budget to make sure that we are able to continue to put those resources into the classroom, where it’s most valuable,” she said.
Markee said she cannot fully support a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones because it is important for educators to be a part of the process to help teach students responsible cellphone use, specifically in high school. When discussing students transitioning into middle school, she feels a supportive culture needs to be continued and bolstered, bridging the gap between elementary and middle schoolers.
One of Malinowski’s priorities includes special education, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with families to help provide the best services. Using and developing resources such as Parent Square is important to continue building inclusivity, while also having parents involved in the educational process. She hopes to create safe schools where every student, educator and staff member feels valued and supported.
“The threats that students face in schools in terms of their public education and their ability to be themselves, is very real, and bringing that to the table, acknowledging it and making sure that our students have space to not only survive, but thrive, is incredibly important to me,” she said.
She said students need tools to transition into middle school, such as fourth to fifth grade transition days and support from middle schoolers, but they also need independence to flourish on their own. As a middle school teacher, she sees how important it is to help guide students during that transition and involve parents in the process. Similarly, as a parent of a student who receives special education services at Mountain View, communication tools like Parent Square has made effective communication easier for teachers and they need further support these types of tools.
Hunter’s top priorities are special education, alleviating child poverty and fighting threats to public education. He said 54.9% of students are considered high needs, a combination of low-income, English-language learners and special education. Supporting and protecting those students through programs such as providing year-round free meals and improved transportation are crucial.
“I think it’s really important for everybody, at every level, to be standing up and saying, ‘We believe in public education,'” Hunter said. “I believe that if we can survive the next 10 years, public education will survive another 200 (years).”
Hunter said it is important to recognize special education is not a department, it is a framework to approaching the entire school community. Inclusion of kids who are neurodivergent or with disabilities needs to focus on social and physical involvement, not just in the classroom. Continuing to develop specialized programs between school districts is crucial and maintaining EPS’s specialists in important, rather than contracting-out for private tutors or speech therapists.
Harvey said one main priority is figuring out how to spend every dollar appropriately ahead of a challenging budget season, while working with the mayor and city council. Another focus of hers is developing a strategic plan for the district. The current plan is aging and she feels it’s time to hear fresh ideas from the community to help improve on it.
“We’re facing some opposition and some difficulty in budgets getting cut all over the country, but I’m looking forward to fighting for level at least level services, and then looking forward to smart and efficient growth in our district,” Harvey said.
When asked about behavioral challenges, Harvey said it is important to note that while the School Committee has authority over policy and budgeting, they don’t have direct input on disciplinary practices. Though, the committee can support school administration, who address behavioral challenges differently. For example, she said teachers don’t need more discipline expectations, they need clearer expectations on how to support children facing behavioral challenges.
Guyette said his top priority would be working with Superintendent Balch, and he was greatly motivated to run for a first term to be a part of the superintendent hiring process. Another priority is to help retain students in Easthampton, saying many students have choiced-out of EPS, an issue many public schools are seeing.
“Many families are choicing-out of our schools, and I think that’s an area we can not only improve on, but learn why … I think that there’s reason to believe that we can get students to come back to our schools by learning what their needs are, that are not being met,” Guyette said, referencing multiple discussions he has had with families and teachers.
Guyette said helping support Balch’s plan of tracking data of behavioral challenges is a big factor to help learn how to best support students. As a parent and educator, he sees firsthand how challenging the transition into middle school is. He wants to recognize that creating MVS has been a large change, but it also provides opportunities for middle schoolers to be role models for elementary students and possibly collaborate during transitions.
Atkins said if elected, she wants to help change the narrative about EPS. She said schools are heading in the right direction but there is still work to do, improving communication and transparency with student families. She feels the community listening sessions with Balch have been information-driven, helping show areas high priority to families for stronger collaboration.
“With more effective communication and transparency, we can develop more collaboration so that every child’s needs are met in creative and non-punitive ways. We need to expand our academic and extracurricular activities to our learners, world languages, more STEM are essential for our participation in democracy,” she said.
When responding to behavioral challenges, Atkins said her training in dialectical behavior therapy has helped her understand that behavior is all about communication. She said individual learners need to be looked at in the context of different classrooms, with teachers who have various ways of communicating. Teachers are facing incredible challenges, and the committee needs to find constructive ways to support them with continuous coaching.