The School Committee gathered on Thursday, Aug. 24 with an agenda highlighted by the ongoing search for an interim superintendent of schools. At its last meeting on Aug. 18, the committee was joined by representatives from the New England School Development Council. NESDEC will be assisting the committee with their interim superintendent search free of charge. The council advised the committee last week to assemble a Screening Committee that would consist of School Committee members, a parent, and an administrator. The committee used Thursday’s meeting to officially elect and assemble its ideal Screening Committee.
School Committee Chair Sarah Fox read off the required dates a potential Screening Committee member would need to be available for.
“The dates will be September 18, 20, 27, 28, 29, and 30,” Fox said. “The applications will close on Monday, Sept. 18. That evening will be the first meeting of the Screening Committee.”
Fox emphasized that all those dates are mandatory, so it is important for potential committee members to be sure they are available for all of them before applying.
Fox nominated acting Superintendent of Schools Michelle Cresta to fill the administrator role on the Screening Committee and explained why she feels she would be an adequate choice.
“One reason is Michelle has been pretty clear she doesn’t want the job,” Fox said. “So we don’t have to have a concern that whoever the representative administrator is, is also someone that’s submitting their application.”
Fox also pointed to Cresta’s experience in multiple school districts as a positive that can help provide perspective to the Screening Committee. The School Committee voted unanimously in favor of Fox’s motion with minimal discussion.
The next order of business was for the committee to decide which of its own members would preside on the Screening Committee. In addition to Fox, School Committee members Brian Ota, Allison Taylor, and Jenn Schaeffner all expressed interest in being on the Screening Committee.
“I sat back and let other people do the searches we had last year,” Taylor noted. “And so I definitely would like to be on the search committee for this particular role.”
After a brief discussion, Schaeffner made a motion to nominate Fox and Taylor to the committee over herself and Ota, and Ota seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous as well.
Letters of interest are being reviewed to fill the parent role on the Screening Committee. Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 4. The committee will appoint the chosen parent at its next meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7.