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Three outgoing members said their farewells and received well-wishes, at the Haverhill School Committee Meeting last night.
Toni Sapienza-Donais served for four years, while Scott W. Wood Jr. and Mayor James J. Fiorentini both served for 20. Sapienza-Donais, a teacher for 32 years and school administrator for eight, said her belief in education led her to run for the Committee. She emphasized that she always made Haverhill’s children the priority of her work.
“Unfortunately, what I encountered sometimes within the committee was not always a collaborative effort (for) the greater good of our students, but my passion has always been and will remain providing quality education for each and every child, rather than do what is politically correct,” she said. “I will leave the committee feeling a bit unfulfilled as negotiations for our hardworking Haverhill public school ESPs (Education Support Professionals) have been left just hanging.”
In his remarks, Wood described himself as a champion for vulnerable students, as well as someone who balanced competing interests, saying he has been labeled as both for and against the teacher’s union. He said it took tough decisions to get the Haverhill School district out of its budget deficit at the start of his tenure, when he became the youngest elected official in the city’s history, to its strong financial position today.
“Nearly two decades ago, the after-school program at Haverhill High School for our most vulnerable, faced an uncertain future,” he said. “It was on the brink of being eliminated by the then-high school principal, a decision that could have deprived countless young minds of a pathway to success. It is (in) those critical budgetary moments I stood firm, unwavering in my commitment to our students… It has become a lifeline for our most vulnerable students — teen moms, those helping support their family, and those facing medical and behavioral challenges.”
Like Wood, Fiorentini pointed to the school district’s dire straits 20 years ago, at the beginning of his time on the Committee. He emphasized that he was Haverhill’s first mayor to preside during the successful authorization of a Proposition 2 ½, override, or “debt exclusion,” which allows for a temporary property tax increase to fund construction projects.
“Twenty years ago, we faced the largest municipal debt in the history of Massachusetts,” he said. “We faced a high school that was on accreditation probation because of a lack of building repairs. Schools weren’t being repaired and there was no money to do it. The public had overwhelmingly voted down a debt exclusion to rehab the high school. We were laying off about 27%of our workforce, and there was no money to hire people who would fix the school.”
He cited his role bringing in more tax dollars as key to the school district’s current budgetary surplus, which has allowed higher teacher salaries, more program funding, decreased class sizes, more teachers and the replacement and renovation of school buildings in disrepair. He ended his speech looking to the future.
“Contrary to popular belief, new growth doesn’t cost a city, it saves a city. New housing and new growth isn’t the enemy of education. New housing is the key to our future. Downtown developments are attracting some great new young people to our city,” he said. “Someday they’ll have children, and when they do, they’ll push the city they live in for the best education possible for their children. Young people and young families are our future and nothing to fear.”
Next month, the School Committee consists of Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, chair; at large members Paul A. Magliocchetti, Richard J. Rosa and Maura L. Ryan-Ciardiello; Ward 1, Erica Diaz; Ward 2, Gail M. Sullivan; Ward 3, Cheryl A. Ferguson; Ward 4, Mikaela D. Lalumiere; Ward 5, Jill Taylor Story; Ward 6, Yonnie Collins; and Ward 7, Thomas W. Grannemann.