East Longmeadow School Committee installs new chair, vice chair ahead of superintendent transition

EAST LONGMEADOW -- March 23, 2026, East Longmeadow School Committee reorganizes mid-cycle, naming new chair and vice chair to ease superintendent transition. The committee voted 5-0 Monday to elevate Antonella Rochelle to chair and Carrie Drosdzinski to vice chair, replacing outgoing chair Gregory Thompson, who argued new leadership should be in place before incoming Superintendent Dr. Joni Monnard begins her four-year contract on July 1. The committee also accepted two small federal grant increases, a $342 boost to the FY26 Title 1 grant (new total $318,717) and a $518 boost to the Title 2 grant (new total $52,616), and unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with the East Longmeadow Education Association that freezes $650 individual professional development reimbursements and eliminates five collaborative meeting days, moves that Assistant Superintendent for Business Pamela Blair said help support the district's proposed 3 percent FY27 budget increase already submitted to the town. The committee also accepted a $1,000 Allstate Foundation grant for National Honor Society student Sameah Awan's Discovering STEM Sparks program, which has served more than 80 children at the East Longmeadow Public Library and sent STEM kits to schools in Tanzania.