HOLYOKE — In a special joint meeting between the Holyoke City Council and the School Committee, the two bodies voted to appoint Devin Sheehan to fill the vacancy created when At-Large committee member Erin Brunelle resigned last month.
Sheehan was chosen on June 18 following an interview as one of the six candidates for the vacancy.
“I am honored to have been selected in a joint session of the School Committee and City Council. I look forward to serving the residents of the city during this critical time for our public schools,” Sheehan said in a statement on the appointment.
Sheehan, a lifelong Holyoke resident, currently serves as the chief of staff for State Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and has previous experience on the Holyoke School Committee, first becoming an at-large member in 2013. Sheehan said along with his experience in education, his previous accomplishments as a former member of the School Committee is what he is most proud of and part as to why he felt ready to step up in this role.
“In the past on the School Committee, I was proud to be a member when we introduced our dual language program and our full day preschool here in the district. Two programs that have both grown and helped families immensely,” Sheehan said.
Brunelle announced she would be resigning from her seat on the School Committee in a statement back in May when she cited family reasons for the departure. Her term ran through 2027, but the seat will appear on the ballot in 2025 to fill the final two years. Sheehan confirmed he planned on running for the remaining two years when the time came.
Sheehan said he finds himself pursuing the position to serve the greater Holyoke community and added he hopes to bridge the gap between families who go unheard.
“All too often in Holyoke, and within public education, we find families that find themselves not heard within their public schools and I’m here to help be a voice for some of those families,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan added the need to strengthen the workforce through Dean Technical High School was also critical in order to meet the needs of businesses in the area.
“Our School Committee can be a driving force in developing our workforce,” Sheehan said. “We’re seeing students once again graduating with their vocational certificates so they can go and start working. We know that the business owners in our community are saying, ‘We need skilled labor, we will hire people tomorrow if you can send them to us.’ The Holyoke Public Schools can be a catalyst for doing that.”
During questions from councilors and committee members, Sheehan was asked how in this role he would help the district’s continued work to exit state receivership. Sheehan said his role as a communicator was something he could bring in order to consistently make sure all stakeholders are engaged in the process.
“This is such an interesting aspect when you think about how government works. We get to really take a deep dive into our policies in which many boards don’t that often, and say is this working right now for the Holyoke School Committee? Is this going to work for the future? And if not, let’s change it,” Sheehan said. “Really focus on what is going to work for the next 10 years. Are we nimble enough to get the job done?”
