A search for a new director of Westfield Vocational-Technical High School will begin soon.
James M. LavertyWESTFIELD – James M. Laverty had two goals for his career in education.
“I always wanted to work in Westfield and to become a superintendent,” he said.
Both goals were realized within the past year.
Laverty, director of Westfield’s Vocational-Technical High School since July, 2011, will leave that post on July 1 to become superintendent of schools at Franklin County Technical School District in Turners falls.
“The move will be bittersweet,” Laverty said explaining his career goals.
He sees his new job as more political than educational, adding his primary function will be interaction with member towns, their school leaders and selectmen.
The school district represents 19 communities with a student enrollment around 500, similar to that at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School, Laverty said.
His goals as superintendent will be to “improve enrollment, improve revenue,” he said.
“Like any school or school district alternative sources of funding are needed to enhance the educational programs offered,” said Laverty.
Programs offered through Franklin Technical include the same programs that are offered in Westfield plus three additional training programs that include plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, welding and cosmetology.
“Vocational education is expensive and funding is always needed for equipment, especially safety equipment,” Laverty said.
His search for alternative funding will include a continuation of efforts in Westfield to earmark at least a portion of vocational-technical student tuition for the school budget.
Tuition in Westfield amounts to about $700,000 annually but those funds are deposited in the city’s general fund.
“We need at least a good size portion of that amount to be placed in a revolving fund for direct school use,” Laverty said.
A Vietnam combat veteran of the Marine Corps, Laverty will continue focus pn Westfield during the next two months planning for senior class graduation and preparing the school for renovations.
Those renovations, about $1 million, will include a new roof, heating system and windows with work scheduled to begin at the close of the current school year.
A Chicopee native, Laverty has been a Westfield resident for the past 33 years. He is a former member of the School Committee and Municipal Light Board during the 1980s and served one term as Ward 6 city councilor from 2002-2004.
He began his educational career in the 1970s as a resource room teacher in the West Springfield school system. He has been involved in vocational-technical education since 1993 including a position as director of the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative from 1993 to 2007.
Westfield Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Scallion said the director position for Westfield Vocational-Technical High School will be posted shortly.
“We will miss Jim. But we are excited about the opportunity his new position will bring him,” said Scallion.