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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
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FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 66
“May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.” — IRISH SAYING
City Council mulls extending elected terms
Cummington march Protesters march in Cummington, Mass, against the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline proposed for Western Massachusetts, Thursday, March 17, 2016. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
Protesters march in Cummington, Mass, against the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline proposed for Western Massachusetts, Thursday, March 17, 2016. (Ben Garver/The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
Kori Feener leads about 100 protesters marching in Cummington, Mass, against the Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline proposed for Western Massachusetts, Thursday, March 17, 2016. (Ben Garver/ The Berkshire Eagle via AP)
Public sessions announced for Southwick superintendent finalists By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – Finalists for the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional Schools superintendent position will tour the district and interview in public session next week. Applicants were narrowed down to five candidates last week following a search conducted in conjunction with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. The candidates are Natalie B. Dunning, Alison LeClair, Jennifer C. Willard, Jeffrey T. Zanghi, and Elizabeth Zielinski. Dunning is the current assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for the Freetown-Lakeville Regional Schools in Freetown, MA. LeClair is the assistant principal for curriculum, instruction and human resources in Agawam. Willard is the director of human resources for the Westfield Public Schools. Zanghi is the assistant superintendent of Tantasqua and Union 61 School District in Sturbridge, and Zielinski is the superintendent of the King Phillip Regional in Norfolk, MA. Zanghi and LeClair will meet and greet the public Monday, March 21 at 3:30 p.m. for 45 minutes at Powder Mill School. Zanghi will
welcome the community in the cafeteria, while LeClair will be in the community room. Zanghi will then be interviewed at 4:30 p.m. and LeClair will be interviewed at 5:30 p.m., both in the superintendent’s conference room. Zielinski and Willard will be at Powder Mill Wednesday, March 23. Zielinski will meet the public at 3:30 p.m. Zielinski will be in the cafeteria and Willard in the community room. At 4:30 p.m., Zielinski will be interviewed in the superintendent’s conference room, followed by Willard’s interview at 5:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 24, Dunning will be available at 3:30 p.m. in the Powder Mill cafeteria and will be interviewed at 4:30 p.m. in the superintendent’s conference room. Willard is also a finalist for the position of superintendent for the Westfield Public Schools. Westfield is comprised of 12 schools, including a preschool, seven elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School district includes a pre-Kgrade two school, a grade three-six intermediate school, and a 7-12 regional school, all on the Southwick campus, as well as an elementary school in Granville.
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The liveliest discussion at Thursday’s City Council session concerned a motion originally made by At-large City Councilor David Flaherty that the City Charter be changed to extend the terms of Mayor and City Councilors to four years. Ward 2 City Councilor Ralph Figy said the Legislative & Ordinance (L&O) Committee had held two meetings on the matter. “What we have here is a home rule petition,” Figy said. He said Rep. John Velis and Sen. Don Humason have agreed to take the petition to the Legislature, allowing a change to the City Charter. During the discussion, Al-large City Councilor Cindy Harris said while she was initially against the change, a new law that may allow campaign signage from April to November has swayed her. “Every four years cuts down on sign pollution,” she said, adding that she would support the change “begrudgingly.” Flaherty said he was surprised the motion came to the floor at the meeting. “I thought you were going to send this to the Charter & Rules Committee,” he said. Figy said the L&O Committee had discussed that action, but didn’t want to go forward until a vote was taken by the City Council. Ward 5 City Councilor Robert Paul, Sr. asked if there had been a discussion about how many times a person could be elected. Figy said that was a totally separate discussion. Ward 4 City Councilor Mary L. O’Connell, who serves on the L&O Committee, said there had been a discussion around taking some other action, including sending the motion to the Charter & Rules Committee. She said if the councilors are not comfortable with home rule, the motion could also be folded into a petition, or into a review of the charter, which would take longer. “I will support this,” said At-large City Councilor Matthew T. VanHeynigen. “Constituents say we should be spending more of our time
Robert Paul, Sr. (center) came to the City Council meeting dressed for St. Patrick’s Day, here with councilors Dave Flaherty and Mary Ann Babinski. (Photo by Amy Porter) governing.” At-large City Councilor Steven Dondley commented that he was strongly in favor of extending the mayor’s term to four years, but not the city councilors. Figy said if the home rule petition went to the House and Senate in a timely fashion, it could go into effect at the next election. Ward 3 City Councilor Andrew Surprise said he would be in favor of the motion if the elections were staggered, adding that at least half of the City Council should be up for re-election every couple of years. “I would like voter input on this,” At-large City Councilor Dan Allie said. “You want some part of your government to be responsive.” Allie said that passing a home rule petition is not being responsive. Flaherty said it only takes one meeting to send the matter forward, and the council could only vote on it once. He suggested sending the motion to Charter & Rules, or back into L&O. Council President Brent B. Bean II commented that the
matter had already been in a sub-committee meeting, which the councilors could have attended. “I represent Ward 5. I don’t know the will of Ward 5,” said Paul. “I believe it’s a significant decision. We have to ask the will of the people.” He said he would like to get voter input on the matter, and spend money to do so if necessary. Figy made a motion to send it back to the L&O committee, and urged Councilors to come to a meeting. “I would like to see a nonbinding ballot initiative in November,” Allie said. “This has been in committee for two years,” Flaherty said, and encouraged committee chairs to make it clear on their agendas what would be actively discussed in meetings. “I’d be happy to come and talk to the committee,” he said. The motion passed to send the matter back to the Legislative & Ordinance Committee, to be discussed at its next meeting on March 29 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION
State reviewing sick, vacation time policies BOSTON (AP) — The Department of Higher Education has launched a review of decadesold leave policies for top officials. Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago said Thursday that he’s asking his staff to recommend changes to existing policies, including those related to accruing sick leave and vacation time and documenting leave time. Santiago said the review will also look at travel policies at all community colleges and state universities. The review comes after the former president of Bridgewater State University Dana MohlerFaria faced criticism for cashing in his unused sick and vacation time for a one-time payment. Mohler-Faria had also negotiated a lucrative annual consulting contract with the university, but Santiago said Thursday that Mohler-Faria has agreed to volunteer his time instead. The commissioner said he wants the review completed in 30 days.