ATHOL – Mitchell R. Grosky – or “Mitch,” as his friends and colleagues know him – has decided that after nine years on the Athol Royalston Regional School Committee, and serving a couple of stints on Athol’s Selectboard, that it’s time to take a step back from public service.
In a letter to the other members of the committee, Grosky said he is announcing his intention not to seek re-election well before the 2023 Town Election in order to “give the opportunity for other citizens who are committed to working together for the good of the children and our schools the chance to consider running for this very important elected position.”
In discussing his decision with the Athol Daily News, Grosky said, “After all these years, I’ve spent my entire life in schools, from my first 22 years getting educated and graduating from Bates College, after which I took my first teaching position. Then I had 29 years of teaching and another seven years as an administrator. And as soon as I finished that, I joined the school committee. Working with a lot of other talented and committed individuals, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot.
“I’m 72 years old – or will be this summer – and not getting any younger. I look forward to spending more time with my family, some of which is here; my son is right here in Orange, and my daughter and son-in-law are in Onset, at the Cape.”
Grosky, a world traveler and accomplished photographer who has always been able to coordinate his global wanderings around the demands of committee and other community commitments, says he’ll be checking off another item on his “bucket list” in 2023.
“In another five or six months, we’re taking a river cruise on the Danube, which will hit Vienna, Prague, and Budapest, among some other places as well. But those are the three major ones,” he said. “We’ve been extremely fortunate to visit the places we’ve visited, between Africa and China and Israel and Jordan, and getting into the Rockies this past summer. Those are terrific, and for a photographer even more exciting.”
Grosky said he’s not worried about whoever may replace him on the committee.
“As I state in my letter, I’m happy to see that our school committee, especially recently, is attracting people who are parents who have children in the school system,” he said. “It hasn’t always been the case. I’ve had children that have gone through the school system, but not while I was on the school committee. I also think it’s important that we also attract people who have direct experience in education. I think it’s extremely helpful to have experience as a teacher, and I also think it’s extremely important to have some people who have been administrators, as well.”
Grosky points to former committee members Ken Vaidulas, Chuck Pretti, and Bill Chiasson as administrators who have all served in recent years.
“That kind of experience is extraordinarily important – not that everyone has that experience – but our committee works well,” he said. “We have 10 people on the committee and that allows to have people with a variety of backgrounds and interests, who are all committed to the interests of children and making sure that each child is as successful as he or she can be.”
Grosky said when he first decided to run for committee, he spoke with former Mahar Regional High School Superintendent Eileen Perkins.
“I asked her, ‘Do you think that if I’m elected, can I base every decision I make on what, in my mind, is in the best interest of the children?’ She thought for just a second, then looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Mitch, if you’re not going to do that, you’ve got no business running in the first place.’ I thought that was sage advice.”
Grosky said it’s not always easy to determine what’s in the best interest of kids, alongside the responsibility to the community.
“There’s always this dichotomy; there are people who feel that as a public servant your responsibility is to the people and to implement what the people – through their voices or surveys or polls – have indicated that they want,” he said. “But ultimately, you have to be true to yourself and say, ‘Alright, the people elected me to this position, so hopefully they respect my commitment, my intelligence, and my desire to help the children.’ That’s the balance you have to make.”
In the closing paragraph of the letter to his fellow committee members, Grosky wrote that children are the lifeblood of the community and nation, and it has never been more important that they receive the very best education possible.
“It’s one of the great joys of my life to think that working with those people on the school committee, and working with teachers, administrators, and parents that we have accomplished over the past decade many good things for the children of this community,” he said.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com