Events Calendar

Name: The Holyoke Public Schools and the Tax Override Vote of 1991
Start: 2025-04-14T17:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-04-14T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Holyoke Public Library

The Explore Holyoke community events calendar highlights the arts and cultural events throughout the city of Holyoke to help plan your visit. You are invited to submit your event. Events encouraged to be submitted are art openings, dance concerts, open mic events, cultural lectures. Events not allowed on the calendar are, political fundraisers, city meetings, daily specials from restaurants and events outside the city of Holyoke.

The Holyoke Public Schools and the Tax Override Vote of 1991

April 14, 2025 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

UMass professor Kathryn McDermott and Willow Kwak explore the 1991 tax override votes, part of a tumultuous period in Holyoke politics. McDermott and Kwak conclude that the repeated, unsuccessful efforts to pass a Proposition 2 ½ override for the schools were a turning point in the relationship between Holyoke and the state, which eventually led to more state funds for Holyoke and other cities, but also to school receivership. This is the first time McDermott has presented her research to a Holyoke audience.

Katie McDermott is on the faculty of the School of Public Policy and the College of Education at UMass Amherst and teaches courses about politics, public education, and policy analysis. Willow Kwak is a recent graduate of Northfield Mount Hermon and plans to attend Harvard University in the fall.