News

On Monday, March 15, 2010, members of the Amherst-Pelham Education Association voted to ratify an agreement that will reduce the projected increase in teachers' salaries for fiscal year 2011. As outlined in the agreement, the salary concessions will take the form of three furlough days over the school year. Teachers will not report for work on the Curriculum/Work Days that have traditionally occurred in December, January, and March.  These days will remain in the school calendar as days off for students, but all school buildings will be closed and teachers will not be paid for any work they do on those days.

Interim Superintendent Maria Geryk has announced her first "Coffee with the Superintendent" to be held on Friday, March 19 at 1:30 pm in her office at 170 Chestnut Street.  This will be an opportunity to meet with the superintendent to ask questions and to hear more about her vision for the future of our school district.  All members of the community are welcome to attend the coffee, which will be co-hosted by the ARMS Family School Partnership.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to serve the district in the role of Interim Superintendent for the remainder of this school year and during the 2010-2011 school year. While our district has experienced a significant challenge over the past several days, the daily work of our talented teachers has not been interrupted. Our children have benefitted, and will continue to benefit, from their expertise and dedication. Teaching and learning is the core of our mission and will be the focus of the work ahead, and there are several initiatives underway which require immediate attention:

March 9, 2010

Dear Members of the Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury Public Schools Community,

On March 8, 2010, at 8:35 pm, Dr. Alberto Rodriguez, Tracy Farnham (Chair of the School Committee of the Union between Amherst and Pelham School Districts), and I came to the decision to bring to a close Dr. Rodriguez's term as Superintendent of Schools for those districts, effective immediately. The parties issued a joint statement declaring: "After the committees' and Dr. Rodriguez's receipt of the survey results from employees, particularly the feedback from a majority of senior administrative personnel who report to Dr. Rodriguez, the committees and Dr. Rodriguez agreed that it was in the best interest of all parties for Dr. Rodriguez to leave his position as Superintendent of the districts."

Maria Geryk, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, serves as Acting Superintendent until further notice. Ms. Geryk is experienced in bringing stability to the districts, having served as Interim Superintendent for the latter portion of the 2008-2009 school year. The School Committees and the Leadership Team of Administrators and Principals are committed to facilitating a smooth transition plan. School committee chairs will meet with the Leadership Team today for an open dialogue which will inform the School Committees' discussion of transition plans at our meeting tonight (see below).

Dear Members of the Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury Public Schools Community,

There has been some speculation regarding the contract between Superintendent Rodriguez and the School Committees of Union #26 and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts.

School officials have released a document detailing the current salary of all professional employees in the district.  The alphabetical listing includes each employee's position on the salary scale, whether the employee works full or part-time, and whether a portion of the employee's salary is grant-funded. 

Members of the Human Resources department and Information Systems department collaborated to produce the list.

The school committee has approved a calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.  The first day for students in grades 1 - 12 will be Thursday, September 2, 2010.  Kindergarten students will begin on Tuesday, September 7.

The earliest last day of school is June 16, 2011.  With five snow days, the school year would end on June 23.

The School Committees are seeking community input as part of the upcoming Superintendent's Evaluation.  See the letter below from Regional School Committee Chair Farshid Hajir to find out how you can submit feedback. 

The Regional School Committee Meeting will begin at 6:30 PM and the FY11 Public Budget Hearing will commence at 7:00 PM.

Amherst Town Hall

This meeting will be shown live on ACTV.

Please click here to view the agenda for this meeting.