After spending a day in district with Swansea Superintendent John Robidoux, the School Committee decided to move him forward in the next stage of the hiring process for the district’s interim superintendent.
The committee decided at its meeting Tuesday to schedule a day in the district at the high school with Robidoux after visiting his school district last week. The committee traveled and conducted the day in district in Swansea in two separate groups in order to avoid any potential Open Meeting Law violations.
While reviewing the day in district at the meeting, committee members spoke highly of Robidoux. Committee member Brian Ota said that he and fellow member Al Williams met with a Swansea School Committee member and an elementary-school principal in the district.
Ota said that he feels “very comfortable” with what he learned after speaking with members of the district, as well as Robidoux himself.
“To summarize our discussions, Mr. Robidoux is a very strong superintendent. His evaluations were always very proficient,” Ota said.
Later in the meeting, Ota said that he had asked the School Committee member why Robidoux was leaving during the school year.
“The last couple of people that got elected, for whatever reason, just kept picking fights with him over everything,” Ota said. “It got to the point where he was constantly trying to justify himself to newcomers.”
In November 2023, the Herald News cited a letter that Robidoux had sent to the School Committee, which said that “members of this committee no longer value me, my hard work, or my dedication.”
After 18 years in the district, he decided to not seek a renewal of his contract due to committee members’ unwillingness to work with him.
Committee member Jenn Schaeffner said she “felt very, very positive” after meeting with members of the district in regards to Robidoux.
“I felt it was very genuine what we were seeing there,” Schaeffner said. “I had a very positive experience and took away a tremendous amount of respect for him.”
Robidoux became the lone finalist for the position in mid-May after Hingham interim Director of Student Services Barbara Cataldo withdrew her name from the running. At the meeting, Fox provided an update, saying that she learned over the weekend that the district was retaining Cataldo as the district’s interim superintendent.