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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-06-08 School Committee MinutesI. 197 i I i READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 8, 1987 Call to Order Chairman Cliff Allen called the Special Meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 9:00 p.m. on June 8, 1987 in the Superintendent's Conference Room at 34 Gould Street. All members of the School Committee were present. Also present were Assistant Superintendent, Ronald A. Winslow and 13 visitors. Arriving later during the meeting, were Mr. Romeo Marquis, Consultant for the Superintendent's Search, and Eileen Woods, Chairperson of the Screening Committee for the Superintendent's Search. Principal Search. Report Cliff Allen stated the School Committee had a representative, Mr. George Shannon, on the Principal's Screening Committee for the Birch Meadow School, who would give them a progress report. Mr. Shannon stated the Screening Committee met on Wednesday, June 3rd, and selected four finalists they felt were all very strong candidates. He stated the guidelines recommended the choosing of six, but the committee had chosen the four because they felt those four were so strong that to choose six would not be adequately filling the requirement of getting candidates of equal candidacy. Mr. Shannon stated that Dr. Wells had requested that they review this number, after it was found that two of the candidates had accepted other positions. Mr. Shannon stated the committee had met earlier that evening and one of the first considerations was to add people to the list of finalists. He stated it was the feeling of the majority of the committee that the two remaining finalists were so strong that they would stay with that number. Mr. Shannon stated that Dr. Wells had stated he felt the pool was too small, and he was going to take the remaining 12 applications and review those to determine whatever candidates he felt were viable and make a decision from that nu-,ber. Mr. Shannon stated the remaining candidates were Richard E. Davidson from Brunswi:�k, ME who is currently the Principal of the Hughes Elementary Sc -ool in Bath, ME. The other is Andre Goyer from Derry, N. H. whc is an Associate Principal for the Mascenic School District at the Elementary level, which encompasses four schools in the towns of Greenville, Mason and New Ipswich, New Hampshire. He states Dr. Wells would be choosing the additional candidates as he fe_t two did not leave him enough options and 198 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 8, 1987 that it was within his purview to select additional finalists, as the Screening Committee is an advisory committee. Mr. Nissen asked who the finalists were that had accepted other positions? Mr. Shannon stated he recalled one was Mary Geil, a Principal in N.H. and the other person was Rose Bradley, who was a Principal in Westford. She accepted a position in Westborough, and Mary Geil accepted a position in Atkinson, N.H. Mr. Coco asked about the number in the pool from which the four finalists had been picked. Mr. Shannon stated there was a pool of 16 that the committee interviewed, two of whom dropped out because of accepting other positions as Principals, leaving 14, which was reduced to the four. He stated originally there were over 50 applicants. Mr. Shannon stated it was the feeling of the committee and of the public meeting attendees that they would like to have someone who could come in and be immediately effective. He stated that Dr. Wells and Dr. Munnelly would be interviewing Mr. Goyer tomorrow, and Mr. Davidson will be interviewed later in the week, and if they remain as candidates, on -site visits would be made at a later date. Mr. Allen asked if any deadlines were mentioned. Mr. Shannon stated not at this stage, as the committee's function is over and the selection process is now turned over to Administration. A Ms. Donna Bramhall asked to be recognized in order to read a statement from the Birch Meadow PTO Executive Committee agreeing with the decision of the Screening Committee in the selection of the four finalists and thanking the committee for their efforts. Mr. Allen then stated that the process is such that the Screening Committee makes its recommendation to the Administration who in turn would make their recommendation to the School Committee. Mr. Nissen stated he would like to clarify that according to the State Law, the School Committee had the option to accept or refuse Dr. Wells' recommendation, but did not have the right to give the Superintendent any further direction as to the selection of a Principal. He stated at this point in time, he had no reason to believe that Dr. Wells would pick anyone but the two candidates if they were as strong as suggested. At 9:15 p.m., there was a short adjournment to await the arrival of the Superintendent's Screening Committee representatives. The meeting was readjourned at 9:48 p.m. upon arrival of Mr. Romeo Marquis, Consultant, and Mrs. Eileen Woods, Chairperson and members of the Screening Committee: Al Lahood, Marc Alterio, Karen Burke, Roy Welsch, Jeff Cryan, Bill Griset, Elia Dangelemaier, Jay Dumas, and Tom Flaherty. SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES L.. JUNE 8, 1987 Mrs. Eileen Woods, the Chairperson, read a statement from the Screening Committee, which stated that 12 members of the Superintendent's Screening Committee met on seven occasions. Mrs. Woods reviewed the process by which the committee had arrived at the seven semi - finalists. She stated each of the seven were interviewed for approximately one hour, and the committee was recommending the following three names as finalists: Dr. Ellen Bueschel, currently Supt. of Schools in Union County School Corp. Liberty, Indiana; Mark Kaufman, currently Supt.of Schools in Essex, MA; and Dr. Robert J. Munnelly, Asst. Supt, in Reading. Mrs. Woods stated the committee felt the need for urgency in selection because these finalists were being considered for similar positions in other communities. Mrs. Woods stated it was the recommendation of the Screening Committee that three of their members serve as liaisons to the School Committee in order to maintain continuity in the process: Bill Griset, a community member; Elia Dangelmaier, a teacher in Reading, and Eileen Woods, an educator who lives in Reading: Mr. Allen stated the School Committee would like to thank the Screening Committee for their time and effort. Mr. Allen asked Mr. Marquis for a brief overview of the selection process. Mr. Marquis stated the Screening Committee had been very thorough and he felt the process was on schedule, but now it seemed there was indeed some urgency to select a Superintendent because of the reasons stated by Eileen Woods. He stated the next step in the process is follow -up interviews to be conducted by the School Committee, and he agreed with the Screening Committee that three of them attend these interviews to bridge the gap between the ground work they had done, leaving the School Committee time to concentrate on more important issues. He suggested that a time schedule be set for these interviews, and that he spend some time with the School Committee before these interviews in order to develop the process. Mr. Marquis suggested after the interviews, site visits would be very important with at least two of the finalists. Mr. Shannon felt concerned that if any other of the candidates were offered other positions, the School Committee might be left with only one candidate, and what was the rationale for only three finalists? Mrs. Woods stated the committee had felt that these three finalists were far and above the other four semi - finalists, and if they felt they could have included more, they would have. Mr. Allen then discussed dates with the other members of the School Committee. Mr. Marquis stated if he telephoned candidates tomorrow the interviews could be scheduled at the beginning of next week. The committee agreed that Wednesday, June 10th, at 8:00 p.m. would be convenient to meet to set up the interview process with the Consultant and the three Screening Committee liaison members. The committee discussed when the interviewing 200 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 8, 1987 would be done. It was agreed to try to schedule some time before the regular meeting on Monday to interview. There was a brief discussion on what time the interviewing should begin. The committee agreed to three interviews being conducted at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. and perhaps a regular School Committee Meeting being conducted after the interviews. Mr. Nissen stated this was assuming all candidates could be available on Monday. There was some discussion on the time schedule for the site visits. Mr. Marquis stated the committee would probably have to schedule this for the following week, if the interviews could be completed by Monday. Mrs. Cooper, a parent and member of the Birch Meadow Screening Committee, stated she recalled that Dr. Wells had noted that he would be presenting his recommendation for the Principal's vacancy on June 15th. Mr. Allen stated this was a tentative date, but if it was necessary to have another meeting on the 16th, perhaps that could be done too. Mr. Shannon stated he felt a little concern about there not being too much rushing in the process, although the schedule should be. timely, a selection should be made very carefully. The committee agreed with this suggestion. As there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m.