GREENFIELD — The School Committee voted 6-1 on Saturday to appoint Monson Public Schools interim Superintendent Roland Joyal Jr. to serve as Greenfield’s interim superintendent after six candidates were interviewed over the course of the day.

Joyal, whose current interim position in Monson is set to expire June 30, will take the helm of the Greenfield School Department in early July, contingent on his acceptance of the position and successful contract negotiations. He is expected to serve the district throughout the 2026-2027 school year while the School Department searches for a permanent replacement for Superintendent Karin Patenaude, whose resignation will take effect July 3.

In the second half of the interview sessions at the John Zon Community Center, Mayor Ginny Desorgher, who also serves on the School Committee, asked Joyal how he would approach the district’s goals and initiatives over the course of the year. Joyal said his support of the district’s plans would mainly come from working with School Committee members to discuss current practices and how they can best be improved. He said that while he would be able to simply come in and keep the district afloat while the committee searches for a permanent superintendent, he could also take a more active role and help the district accomplish some of its smaller goals.

“I think there’s some easy wins that we could grab in this year to not let things sit for a whole year and there’s some strengths to keep going, some of the initiatives that are happening,” Joyal said. “One of the things I’m doing in my current job is taking notes religiously to share with the incoming superintendent. … I would do the same thing with our incoming superintendent, getting them ready. I would have constant communications with the School Committee.”

When School Committee member Kathryn Martini asked Joyal how he would work with parents, committee members and other municipal officials, he responded that transparent conversations with the public through regular meetings would be the best way to maintain healthy relationships.

“I could hold individual meetings with each of the committee members and possibly collectively as a group. I could also meet with our elected officials in the mayor’s office, City Council, etc.,” he said. “I can’t run this myself at all and I don’t pretend that I can. … It takes a collective effort to run a school system. If you think that you’re going to be like the Lone Ranger out there, it’s not going to work at all. People have to believe in you.”

In a brief public comment period, two representatives of the Greenfield Education Association, member Tara Cloutier and President Ann Valentine, both spoke in support of Joyal, pointing out his record for knowledge and professionalism during his interim role as Greenfield High School principal.

“People have approached me with comments such as he was approachable, he was calm, he was knowledgeable,” Valentine said. “I’m also thinking that it would be nice if we had somebody that was stable and not really into some big changes right now, and somebody who we know and trust.”

After all six interviews concluded, School Committee members took an informal vote, announcing first, second and third candidate choices. With Joyal listed in each member’s top three list, School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad listed Joyal and Maureen Binienda as the candidates who had attracted “the most energy” from committee members.

School Committee member Melodie Goodwin, explaining her decision, noted that at Saturday’s morning interview session she thought she would vote for Marc Gosselin, but later changed her mind, noting that Joyal’s experience in the district would bring a “healing component,” as high school teachers know and would feel comfortable working with him.

Desorgher echoed Goodwin’s remarks, noting the fact that Joyal was described as being calm and communicative made him stand out as a candidate.

“My overarching thing would be that he was known, and those who know him and worked with him said he was comfortable, secure and a communicator,” Desorgher said. “I would advocate for him for that.”

School Committee members voted 6-1 to appoint Joyal, with member Elizabeth DeNeeve voting “no.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.