The East Longmeadow School Committee votes unanimously to assign a new chair and vice chair.
Photo credit: ELCAT01028
EAST LONGMEADOW — The East Longmeadow School Committee is beginning a new chapter as it voted unanimously to reorganize in anticipation of Dr. Joanne Menard’s start date as superintendent on July 1.
Current Superintendent Gordon Smith will be retiring at the end of the school year.
The committee nominated Antonella Raschilla Manzi to become the new chair, filling Greg Thompson’s seat, and Kerri Jarzabski as vice chair, filling Aimee Dalenta’s seat at the meeting on March 23.
Thompson told Reminder Publishing he is not seeking reelection to the School Committee this time around. He has been on the committee since 2008 and was reelected to a three-year term in 2023.
Committee member William Strother introduced the motion to nominate Raschilla Manzi as chair. She has served on the School Committee since 2019 and began a three year term in 2025.
Jarzabski was chosen to fill a vacant position in August 2025 and was nominated by Dalenta to fill her seat as vice chair. Dalenta began a three-year term in 2025 and will continue to serve as a committee member.
Thompson said the School Committee is allowed to reorganize mid-cycle with a super majority vote, which requires four of the five members of the committee to approve. The reorganization meeting after July 1 will still occur to reaffirm the chair and vice chair or “however the committee at that point decides to move forward,” according to Thompson.
He added that serving with the School Committee has been the “privilege of a lifetime” for him, and that he’s not in a “super rush” to leave. He thought reorganizing as soon as possible would be best and that the time left with Smith would be valuable, stating “it’s the right time that we start making that transition.”
The new chair and vice chair would hae time to work with Smith, Assistant Superintendent for Business Pamela Blair] and [Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Heather Brown in setting meeting agendas in advance of Menard’s start date, Thompson explained.
“That way, when she comes on board, it won’t be three new people, necessarily, it just may be one,” he said.
Thompson also said that reorganizing now is a unique situation, but gave the committee the opportunity as a group to have an open discussion about it.
Strother said he was “ripping the band-aid off” and that the committee should go for it and get it done now, rather than waiting for the next meeting or the reorganization meeting in July.
“I think it would be better to, not trying to push [Thompson] out obviously,” Strother said. “I do agree with, you know, having an opportunity with the chair, having the opportunity to be able to sit in that seat working with Gordon, working with the staff, really trying to get things going prior, makes a lot of sense.”
Thompson did propose that he stay with the School Building Committee for the new high school because he’d “really like to see that through.” The committee would potentially need to add another School Committee member to that committee in his replacement. Menard will also be joining that committee and relieving Smith of his duties.
