A Utica City school board meeting to certify school election results turned into a love fest as speakers heaped praise on Superintendent Christopher Spence during the public comment portion of the meeting on May 20.
In fact, the 30 minutes set aside for public comment were used up with four residents still wanting to speak, so the board unanimously extended the public comment period so that everyone could be heard.
Thomas R. Proctor High School student Cynthia Baldwin told the board that she was targeted for bullying in the past, saw no way out of her situation and ended up getting expelled and suspended.
But, now the district has an afterschool program and community partner agencies who bring in people who listen to Baldwin when she’s being picked on, she said. The programs and that support have made a huge difference to Baldwin, who is now eager to stay in school and graduate, she said.
And those programs and partnership were brought into the schools by Spence, she said.
“Please give him the chance he deserves,” Baldwin begged the school board, “Because I feel like he’s making a change, a bigger change than any other superintendent.”
Changes in the district
The audience applauded. Baldwin was joined by 14 more speakers who praised Spence and the changes in the district since his arrival, including new programs, higher test scores, outside honors, a higher bond rating, a greater feeling of welcome in the schools for community members and greater support for students.
Most of the speakers called for the extension of Spence’s contract.
Sabrina Brown-Engram, a mental health counselor, said over the years she’s worked with many students who attend the Utica schools. In the past, she found a lot of children acted out in school because they couldn’t read, she said.
“They would rather act out and be kicked out for behaviors rather than staying in school and being ridiculed because they can’t read,” she explained.
But, in the last two years, the academics have improved in the district, Brown-Engram said. And when kids do better academically, their self esteem and confidence improve, too, which helps to stop the fighting, she said.
She offered kudos to the school board – and to Spence – for putting the district on the right path and said she hopes the community can continue along that path together.
School board members and administrators, in keeping with school board tradition during public comment, listened to all the speakers, but did not respond.
Spence was hired by the school board on July 9, 2024 and is about to complete his second school year as superintendent. His contract expires at the end of the 2026-2027 school year.
District response
The district has not made any public comment on whether it wants to extend Spence’s contract, in keeping with the school board’s policy of only discussing personnel matters in executive session until they are ready for a vote.
School board President Joseph Hobika did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
The silence has made some community members nervous, though.
An informal grassroots coalition of community leaders has worked to mount a campaign, including the school board meeting testimonials, to let the school board know that they want Spence to stay, Rev. Sharon Baugh, pastor of Hope Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church in Utica, explained over the phone the day after the school board meeting. She also spoke via telephone during the school board meeting.
Her church has been providing books for children in the neighborhood and running a summer program that has now expanded into an afterschool program, too.
The church is close to Roscoe Conkling Elementary School and when she first came to her church about eight years ago, Baugh tried to get an appointment with the principal to find out if her church could support the school, she said.
But she didn’t get that appointment, she said, until she went to the school board and explained that she wanted to drop off socks and hats, but couldn’t get an appointment.
“But that was the culture back then,” Baugh said. “The culture was — don’t let nobody in.”
Now she can talk to the superintendent and try to partner with the district, Baugh said.
And lots of other things are getting better, too, which is why she doesn’t understand why there’s been no word on a contract extension, she said.
“The last thing you want is to upend that, stop it and then have someone else come in with whatever vision, mission,” Baugh said. “I mean, you start over. And the momentum that the school has now would be lost.”
‘Dr. Christopher Spence deserves a contract extension’
Dawn LaGuerre, a volunteer and advocate for numerous city organizations, continued the campaign by sending out a letter to the editor on the need for stability, in the form of Spence and his policies, within the school district.
LaGuerre also spoke during the board meeting.
“Tonight I want to talk about something bigger than politics, personalities or contracts,” she said. “I want to talk about progress and whether we, as a community, are willing to protect it because progress in education does not happen overnight. It takes vision. It takes consistency.
“And most importantly, it takes leadership’s willingness to stay committed through challenges, criticism and change. That is why Dr. Christopher Spence deserves a contract extension.”
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Should school board give Utica superintendent an extension now?
Reporting by Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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