Patty Lubol, the newly elected member of the Holyoke School Committee representing Ward 6, outlined priorities for her term on Holyoke Media, saying she will focus on special education, community trust and better communication as local control of the district returns.

Lubol said the moment matters because "we have not had [local control] for the last 10 years," and she called the change "an opportunity to start fresh" as the district moves out of receivership. She said she will take office at an inauguration scheduled for Jan. 5, 2026.

Lubol described how she became Ward 6’s representative after a certified candidate withdrew and there was no name on the ballot, prompting her three-and-a-half-week write‑in campaign. "I didn't intend to run for school committee," she said, but she stepped in because her neighborhood would otherwise lack representation.

She framed special education as her "fundamental priority," citing district figures she raised during the interview: "1 in 3 students are on an IEP." Lubol said that students with disabilities are often treated as a secondary concern and urged the committee to incorporate special‑education thinking into broader district decisions: "When we treat one of the biggest issues...as a sidecar," she said, "that is a problem." She advocated universal design in classrooms and broader ways for students to show mastery beyond a single test.

Lubol also described operational and communication problems she observed both as a parent and as a strategy consultant: she told the host she found "faulty" processes that left teachers and families undersupported and recounted testing the municipal website for accessibility, saying the "Holyoke website was inaccessible" at times because of broken links and noncompliance with web content accessibility guidelines. She urged the district to communicate in multiple venues and repeated messages in different formats to reach families who work nontraditional hours.

On outreach, Lubol said she has been conducting a listening tour ahead of assuming office and plans to keep door‑knocking and meeting residents in neighborhood hubs such as the Bowdoin Village community room. She gave examples of positive work in schools — visits to Sullivan and McMahon schools where she saw engaged students and staff — and said she wants to elevate those successes as well as address persistent problems.

Lubol described her approach to the early months in office as similar to a 30‑60‑90 plan: learn, reassess and build priorities based on stakeholder input. She said she will ask who is not at the decision‑making table, press to pilot changes when scale or resources are uncertain, and use her skill set where it most benefits the board and student outcomes.

For now, Lubol provided interim contact details: a campaign/business Gmail account (plueboldward6@gmail.com) and a phone number she gave on air, and said she will have an official district email once she is on the board.

The interview closed with Lubol reiterating her commitment to relationship building and measurable progress; the next public milestone is her inauguration on Jan. 5, 2026.