Members from the Holyoke Public School district demonstrate walk-ins at their respective schools to express that change is needed.
Photo credit: Holyoke Teachers Association
HOLYOKE — After 10 years, the end of state receivership is just a few months away with Holyoke Public Schools’ chronically underperforming designation set to end on July 1.
The School Committee hosted a meeting on April 28 where Education Secretary and interim Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Pat Tutwiler, along with Deputy Commissioner Lauren Woo, attended in person to present state control exit assurances, which allow the state to continue portions of the district turnaround plan past when the receivership is set to expire.
The new exit plan changes the duties from the receiver to the superintendent who will have control over staffing, schedules, compensation and other decisions. The plan also lays out priorities that will be enforced by the state for two years after receivership ends.
The Holyoke School Committee voted to accept the exit assurances contingent upon the pronouns being updated to include more gender-neutral language throughout the document and referred to the local control subcommittee.
The exit assurances can be found online at tinyurl.com/2yjfuwrh.
In a press release sent to Reminder Publishing, Holyoke Teachers Association President Nick Cream issued a statement opposing the state’s plan for the city’s schools on behalf of the group.
Although Holyoke Public Schools and Tutwiler said the exit assurances were made with suggestions and feedback from the School Committee and HTA, the Teachers Association expressed they were “angered and dismayed” by the exit assurances announced.
The statement read, “Not only do these holdover provisions from the failed state-supervised turnaround plan contradict the very notion of exiting receivership, but they are also a devastating blow against the idea that our public schools are returning to local control. Today’s announcement is a major breach of trust and a setback in our efforts to have our public schools returned to authentic local control. We anticipated entering an era of meaningful change. Instead, we now feel as if educators were ambushed and excluded from decision making.”
The HTA also said they were “promised” a special meeting to discuss the exit assurances, but they were instead discussed during a School Committee meeting.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page also released a statement expressing his concerns with exit assurances that DESE announced as part of the plan to end receivership of Holyoke Public Schools.
He said, “State Education Secretary and interim Commissioner of Education Patrick Tutwiler and his DESE staff today showed nothing but contempt for educators in Holyoke by effectively leaving all of the worst elements of receivership in place with the so-called ‘exit assurances’ meant to pave the way for ending state control of the city’s public schools.”
Members of the Holyoke Teachers Association staged group walk-ins at their respective worksites starting at 7 a.m. on May 1.
Public school educators across the state hosted walk-ins to demonstrate solidarity in their fight to protect students, public education and communities from harmful policies the Trump administration is trying to impose. The Holyoke walk-ins had additional urgency as educators voiced their disapproval with the state’s plan to keep the most punitive elements of state control.
The HTA said, “The Holyoke Teachers Association joins our colleagues across the state in standing up for all students and their families. The Trump administration’s cruel attacks on immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community and efforts to control what and how we teach cannot go unchallenged. The HTA is particularly inspired to stand up for educators, students and public education this May Day after the announcement from Secretary Tutwiler. We need our full rights back; consultation is not collective bargaining.”
With the discourse of the exit assurances, Mayor Joshua Garcia made a statement to clear up a few things. He said there’s a “good chance” the city will hear a lot of rhetoric around the states “exit assurances” in its transition to local control, but will be communicating very soon in more detail what these assurances mean to help everyone understand a little better and deescalate any confusion that may stir up.
“As we work on that, I want to personally let you know despite what is being communicated at moment, we will have the school district in local control on July 1 and teachers will get to collective bargain, I believe this is where people are getting confused. Make no mistake, the School Committee will be in charge on July 1 and will be able to set policy; approve and monitor the budget, directly supervise the superintendent independent from the state and more. We have made it this far in the process and we are almost there in the transition. Don’t lose trust now. Standby for more information very soon.”
