The evening of Tuesday, June 23 saw a vast show of student, staff and parental support for Pioneer Valley Performing Arts (PVPA) High School Executive Director Robert Brick at a 6 p.m. meeting of that institution's board of trustees. The standing-room-only meeting at the school in South Hadley began with an hour-and-a-half long public comment period during which several students, parents, teachers and alumni expressed their dismay at the board's earlier unanimous decision not to renew Brick's contract for the coming school year, and vented frustrations about an evaluation process that has since been characterized as secretive and long-festering.
"I sense there are some internal politics that we as a community have not been privy to," said Leah Varsano, an eloquent 2006 graduate who drove hours to be at the meeting. Many former students in attendance had made the trip from as far away as New York City, and a sizeable coalition of other alums had drafted a signed letter of protest which it released to the press upon learning of the board's recommendation.
As one might expect, the speeches of passionate young performing arts students often verged on the comic and/or dramatic, but all seemed to share a sincere love and appreciation of the charter school's co-founder and chief administrator of 13 years. Referring to the series of evaluations that appeared to be at the core of the controversy, student Maya Murphy addressed the board with stinging comments in reference to its own relatively obscure and removed presence.
"How," she implored, "can you evaluate something that you've never been a part of?"
History and Social Science department director Gary Hugget and music department director Mitch Chakour also made impassioned pleas to the board to reconsider the decision based on the impact the loss of the charismatic Brick would have on the everyday environment of the school community.
Presenting a more tempered argument was parent Lenore Brick (no relation), who suggested that though Brick may suffer from some administrative inefficiencies in areas that have been pointed out by his critics, perhaps his position should be redefined to allow him to focus on "what he does best"—interfacing with the ground-level community of staff, students and parents and interacting one-on-one with the student body. Several students and alumni pointed to Brick's skills and compassion in these areas and indicated in no uncertain terms how their own lives had been turned around as a result of his guidance and personal attention.
Though most of the other side of the argument is apparently being kept confidential, there are implications that, especially in a tanking economy, the salary Brick draws ($95,000 in 2007; information about whether cost-of-living increases had been added was unavailable) should pay for more initiative in the areas of fundraising and fiscal management, areas on which the school depends for much-needed grants and other funding sources that help ensure depth of curriculum and diversity of population.
"There needs to be some kind of reform," said Molly Welch, a longtime English teacher at PVPA and staff representative to the board who referred to herself jokingly as "the enemy." Welch acknowledged Brick's popularity and abilities in some areas, and gave him credit for having taken courses recommended by the board to help improve certain administrative skills. But she also stated that the school's administrative culture seemed to lack momentum in recruiting students from lower-income backgrounds in places like Springfield and Holyoke, and that someone more skilled in assisting such students was needed.
Board members tried to explain to the crowd (which could be described as peacefully hostile) that the issue was "not black-and-white," but failed to elaborate on the statement, apparently deferring to board member and local attorney Paul Weinberg, who explained at the start of the meeting that Brick and the board had agreed to mediation, which would be handled in a closed-door "executive session." The board also agreed that it would not take its ultimate vote until the end of the summer, to allow for a "cooling-off period" and, presumably, for time to hash out the line-item details of whether or how Brick's contract will be renewed in the fall.
Board President Dorie Shallcross said in an interview with the Daily Hampshire Gazette on June 25 that mediation had begun, though she did not elaborate on the nature or likely duration of the process. Most of those involved remained optimistic that some form of compromise might be reached by the beginning of the next school year, and that Brick's position might be modified so as to allow him to continue as the school's director, but would also allow for the desired changes to be implemented through reallocation of duties or the hiring of additional administrators.
