School Committee members and staff hear concerns from approximately 100 residents and staff in attendance at the School Committee meeting on Feb. 12, hosted in the Performing Arts Center due to the crowd.
Reminder Publishing photos by Amy Porter
HUNTINGTON — At the start of the Gateway Regional School Committee meeting on Feb. 12, which was moved to the Performing Arts Center due to the 100 residents that attended, Chair Jason Forgue asked for a motion to extend public participation to 30 minutes, instead of the 15 minutes normally allotted.
Many of the families in attendance have children in Chester Elementary School, and came to express their sadness that its popular principal Vanna Maffuccio was on paid leave since Dec. 20, leaving many questions unanswered. Superintendent Kristen Smidy has not commented on the personnel matter. A special meeting had also taken place on Feb. 5 for the same purpose.
Also present were current staff and administrators speaking in support of Smidy, and offering their support to staff and students of Chester Elementary.
Jeana Briggs, a parent and a member of the School Committee, said she had four boys in Gateway, two still in Chester, and was there to speak as a parent. She expressed her gratitude for several “shining lights” in the situation, including Mark Folta, who has stepped in as substitute principal after serving similar roles in Gateway in the past. She also thanked Pupil Services Director Kurt Garivaltis for spending extra time with the students.
Briggs said she was reelected to the School Committee last year after four years as a representative. She said she has worked alongside Smidy, and said there is “no one better.” However she questioned the way the departure at Chester was handled.
“Measures should have been in place. Privacy could have been maintained while handling [the situation],” she said, adding her child came home crying every day for two weeks.
Former School Committee member Tasha Strong also spoke. She said she has two children who started at Chester Elementary. “It was not always great and was lacking in leadership until Vanna came along and changed and challenged everything,” she said.
Strong said Maffuccio was passionate about the school, and made the kids feel welcome and enriched. “Even after my son came to the middle school, Vanna would check in on him,” she said, adding, “No one else can fill her shoes. We won’t settle for anyone other than Vanna. We don’t want more than, equal to; we want Vanna.”
Alicia Swendsen questioned whether due process had been followed, including in the hiring of Folta. “If we’re going to be strict on protocols, why was that protocol not followed,” she asked.
Sarah Page of Russell, former School Committee member and chair, said the hiring and firing of staff is not the purview of the School Committee, but does involve the evaluation of the superintendent.
“I have full confidence in Ms. Smidy,” she said, adding that Smidy’s heart and passion are 100% invested in Gateway, and is undeniable.
Page also said the School Committee members are volunteers and many are parents, and the positions are not easy to fill. She asked people to trust them and let them do their job.
Michael LaBranche, a Gateway graduate and paraprofessional at Littleville, also shared words of support for Smidy, and said during this time of investigation, matters cannot be shared, making for a difficult situation for both Smidy and Maffuccio.
LaBranche acknowledged Smidy’s appointment of Folta, with whom he had worked when he filled in at Littleville twice before. He said Folta takes the time to build meaningful relationships with the students. “He’s the right person at the right time,” he said.
Also speaking were some Chester Elementary School students, including one fifth grader named Sophia, who said their school is not a safe place anymore. “We are scared, sad and stressed. Please act fast,” she said, adding, “Please hear my voice. Please do something about it.”
Another parent said that in the previous meeting on Feb. 5, people who spoke were “so angry.” “This week, we’re so sad. We need to come together and respect each other. People have been very disrespectful.”
At the end of public participation, Forgue said he was glad to hear a more positive tone and removal of what he had considered attacks on the superintendent. He also said to Sophia, “I hear you.”
Speaking next on the agenda were William Sullivan, principal of Gateway Regional middle school and high school, and Melissa McCaul, principal of Littleville Elementary.
Sullivan said at the first meeting, many of the parents and community members who attended expected to hear updates. He said the educational process, which is ethical and lawful, takes time. “It is crucial to follow the process,” he said.
McCaul said they deeply appreciated Maffuccio’s work at Chester Elementary, and said an added challenge in the situation is that Chester Elementary is separated from the main campus.
“We will be asking our counselors to provide additional support to Chester,” McCaul said. She said Smidy was following policies and procedures, and personal attacks could hinder the process.
“We are here for Chester Elementary. We have unwavering support for Kristen Smidy. We understand disagreements are normal. Our confidence in her leadership is resolute,” she added.
Briggs, who had returned to her seat on the School Committee, then spoke up. “I so respect what you’ve been saying. They should have been there since day one. A decision was made — I get it, don’t understand it — it impacted our schools terribly,” she said.
After the meeting, in response to a question that had been raised of who had been put in charge of Chester before Folta was in place, Smidy said, “The leave started on [Dec.] 20, so it was one day before break. Deanna LeBlanc, our curriculum director who holds an active license to be an elementary principal and our pupil service director Kurt Garivaltis both shared the leadership role at Chester for three weeks and until Mark Folta began as the substitute principal the week of [Jan.] 27.”
After the meeting, Smidy also scheduled a special meeting of the School Committee on Google Meet on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m., after Reminder Publishing’s print time, with one action item, to discuss and approve her request to assign an outside investigator on all pending investigations. “
