Mayor Domenic Sarno applauds as Sonia Dinnall is officially welcomed as the new superintendent of Springfield Public Schools.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield School Committee officially welcomed incoming Superintendent Sonia Dinnall at the July 11 committee meeting.
Dinnall received words of support from all members of the School Committee. School Committee member Christopher Collins pointed out that Dinnall is the first “female” school superintendent in the city’s history and said it had been “a long time coming.” He congratulated Dinnall on “breaking that glass ceiling.”
School Committee member LaTonia Monroe Naylor said Dinnall would “be able to move the district forward,” while School Committee Vice Chair Joesiah Gonzalez told her, “I believe you can succeed.” Describing the School Committee and superintendent position, committee member Peter Murphy said, “We’re a team.”
That team has weathered some storms recently. The superintendent selection process was contentious and fraught with conflict. There were accusations by Mayor Domenic Sarno that Gonzalez, Monroe Naylor and School Committee members Barbara Gresham and Denise Hurst were pushing for one preferred candidate, paired with Gonzalez’s statement that Sarno and former Superintendent Daniel Warwick “have hijacked the agenda of a public body.” At one point there was a call for the search process to be scrapped and restarted.
During the voting process for superintendent, a vote for Springfield Public Schools Lead Chief Schools Officer Kimberly Wells failed with a 3-4 vote, before Dinnall was selected with a vote of 4-3 in favor.
Dinnall succeeds Warwick, who had planned to retire at the end of the 2024 fiscal year, but unexpectedly resigned three weeks early amid a scandal around derogatorily comments he made about Monroe Naylor in a phone call with another member of the School Department.
Sarno, who chairs the School Committee, thanked Michelle Balch for acting as the interim superintendent on short notice. The rest of the committee also acknowledged her contributions, and she received a standing ovation.
Referring, in part, to Balch, Dinnall said Warwick had chosen “nothing but the best” to work in the central office.
Dinnall is a product of Springfield Public Schools. She said the school department can “produce excellence” and praised the “second to none” education she received in the city. She spoke of the passion she has had for education for the past 33 years.
Later, speaking with Reminder Publishing, Dinnall said, “I am feeling excited. I have to pinch myself often” because she had been given “the opportunity to give the children of Springfield the best education.”
Dinnall said that she is most excited about listening to members of the community. “I’m looking forward to gaining wisdom from the collective,” she said. To accomplish this, the new superintendent will be hosting Super Saturdays and Super Sundays — opportunities to go to different neighborhoods and speak with the people who live there.
Describing her leadership style and work ethic, Dinnall said she “keeps her head down and stays focused” and “trusts my hard work, servant leader approach will encourage children to reach for the stars.”
