School Committee Chair Laura Scott (left) and interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda (right) during the Sept. 10 School Committee meeting.
Photo credit: Easthampton Media
EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Public Schools is currently entrenched in the process of finding a permanent superintendent.
During its regular meeting on Sept. 10, the Easthampton School Committee announced that the job posting for the superintendent position is now live on the city website and a link for people who would like to join the Superintendent Search Committee is available on the school department website.
“The search is beginning in earnest,” said School Committee Chair Laura Scott during the Sept. 10 meeting.
The city is requiring that the prospective superintendent has a master’s degree, a minimum of 10 years in education, including three years of central office and/or administrative experience preferred, and either has a certification as a superintendent of schools in Massachusetts or is eligible for that certification.
The goal is to have a permanent superintendent chosen by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the School Committee is looking for 10 voting members to join the Superintendent Search Committee, which will assist in the process of finding the right applicant. The committee will consist of three parent volunteers, three staff volunteers one Easthampton High School student volunteer and three administrative representatives.
According to the department’s website, one parent and one staff member will be chosen to represent each school in the department and preference will be given for one parent of a special education student at any grade level and one special education staff member from any grade level.
The school district also said on its website that no prior experience for the search committee is necessary and all volunteers who participate in the committee will have to go through an orientation and training session. The Massachusetts Association of School Committees will provide professional guidance throughout the process.
Applications for the committee are due by 8 p.m. on Oct 4., according to the district.
“Our next school committee meeting is Oct. 8 where we will be reviewing those applications and making a selection and voting,” Scott said.
All search committee members chosen will have to attend evening meetings on Oct 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, Nov 1 and 4, according to the School Committee.
Background
The search process for a new permanent superintendent in Easthampton comes after a tumultuous couple of years.
The department’s superintendent search reached national news in spring 2023 after the prior School Committee rescinded their offer to Vito Perrone, who now currently serves as the Hampshire Regional School District superintendent.
His offer to become EPS’s superintendent was rescinded because of contract requests and his use of the word “ladies” in an email.
The department then planned to give Erica Faginski-Stark the position, but she eventually withdrew from negotiations after school officials informed her that they would look into controversial social media posts from a few years ago that students from the high school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club labeled as “conservative transphobic rhetoric.”
Eventually, the department named former Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Maureen Binienda as the interim superintendent in Easthampton in June 2023. She has been serving in that role since then. In order to stay on as the superintendent for the 2024-25 school year, the district needed approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Those looking to join the search committee can visit the department’s website at epsd.us/about/superintendent.
