Page 44 - BusinessWest August 4, 2025

Soto agreed and said this return to local control is an accomplishment
marked by dramatic improvement in the graduation rate — 52% to 77% —
and progress on other fronts ranging from early literacy to reduced suspen-
sion rates; from restructuring of the schools in a middle-school model to
the building of a new middle school, the city’s first new school construction
in nearly 40 years.
That project was achieved despite the extreme challenge of a global
pandemic that arrived as progress was building, isolating students and
setting the district back several years, in Soto’s estimate, as it went about
the work of transforming its schools, while also exacerbating a laundry list
of stern societal challenges that have historically taxed students, families,
teachers, and administrators alike.
“In a community like Holyoke, the pandemic just hits much harder,” he
explained. “This community is already plagued with a high percentage of
families living in transition or that are housing-displaced. We have a com-
munity living in poverty and with a high level of drug addiction ... the things
that our students have to go through in the community definitely have an
impact when they walk through our doors. It’s hard; this isn’t a walk in the
park.”
Garcia agreed, noting that, beyond the accomplishments in the class-
room — where there is certainly still room for considerable improvement
— Holyoke emerged from receivership by showing it has the commitment
and leadership to manage its own schools and not slide back to the condi-
tions that resulted in the state taking control.
“There’s a commitment from the district to continue our turn-around
plan so that we don’t untangle any of the work over the past 10 years and
go backward, and there’s a commitment from our committee to make sure
we stay the course on that turnaround plan and continue the strategies
that have achieved the progress we’ve seen,” he said, adding that these fac-
tors have enabled the city to earn the state’s trust when it comes to manag-
ing its schools.
“The Commonwealth can say, ‘the changes were made, they’re on a
good path, they’re showing notable gain, there’s some strong leadership in
their form of government,’” he went on. “Those buckets are what allowed
the Commonwealth to say, ‘it’s time to transition to local control.’”
For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest takes an in-
depth look at how the Holyoke school system fell into receivership, how it
emerged, and what happens next.
School of Thought
Soto was certainly familiar with Holyoke’s schools when he became the
third receiver to oversee the system.
Indeed, he grew up in the city and graduated from Dean Tech High
School. After working in Springfield Public Schools for several years, he
became the chief of Finance and Operations for the Holyoke schools and
was in that role when the system went into receivership in 2015.
When the first receiver left after more than five years in that role to take
a position closer to home in the eastern part of the state, Soto was asked
“There’s a commitment from the
district to continue our turn-
around plan so that we don’t
untangle any of the work over the
past 10 years and go backward.”
MAYOR JOSHUA GARCIA
to take on that role, but declined, saying he didn’t think he was ready. But
when the second receiver lasted only seven months, he was again asked to
step in, and this time accepted the challenge.
And a stern challenge it was. Indeed, Holyoke met the basic criteria for
entering receivership — chronic underperformance and not showing any
improvement over time — and had the lowest graduation rate in the state
and one of the highest drop-out rates.
“The state conducted reviews and determined that there needed to
be some serious intervention to fix the systems and make sure there’s a
foundation for high-quality instruction and to give our kids a shot,” said
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