WILMINGTON, MA – With one week before the March 6 deadline, the Wilmington School Committee has yet to receive many applications for its Superintendent position.
The Wilmington School Committee met on Monday night at a special meeting to discuss the Superintendent Search process.
School Committee Chair Julie Broussard was unable to reach the district’s HR Director Ken Storlazzi prior to the meeting to confirm the exact amount of resumes received, but she estimated the number was “at least two,” “possibly three.”
Broussard noted that the School Committee received 17 applications during its last search in 2014 that ultimately led to the hiring of former Superintendent Mary DeLai.
There are nearly 50 current Superintendent opening across Massachusetts. In speaking with Massachusetts Association of School Committee Field Director Mike Gilbert, Broussard shared that Stoneham Public Schools, which is also in the midst of a superintendent search, just received 40 applications.
Committee members speculated as to why so few applicants have expressed interest in the position, advertised at a starting salary of $155,000-$170,000. Several members expressed optimism, however, that more interest in the position will materialize over the next seven days. Members also agreed that it’s the quality, not the quantity, of the application pool that ultimately matters, noting a “superstar” candidate could still emerge.
On the morning of Tuesday, March 7, the district’s HR Director will email each School Committee members every application he received.
The School Committee will then meet in Executive Session after its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, March 8 at 7pm to discuss the applicants.
Broussard pointed out that the Committee can only discuss the applicants once in Executive Session, per state law. When the committee meets subsequently to discuss candidates, it must be done in public session. (One caveat: Semi-finalist interviews can be held in private, but finalist interviews must be public.)
The Committee will issue a written public statement by Friday, March 10, announcing how it plans to proceed with the selection process after discussing each applicant in the March 8 Executive Session.
The Committee is likely to decide at its March 8 Executive Session meeting if it will form a selection committee of representatives from the school community and greater Wilmington community, or if it will simply select the finalists themselves. The number of applications received will play a significant role in this decision. If there is a small pool of applications, expect the Committee to handle the selection process themselves.
If the number of applications remains low, the Committee may also reassess its search strategy and bring in a professional search firm to assist them, which they did in the form of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees during their 2014 search.
The Committee also made it clear that it would be willing to hire another Interim Superintendent if the current search does not yield the right candidate. (Interim Superintendent Joanne Benton cannot stay with the district beyond June 30.)
“We’re not going to rush this. If we need to take more time, we’ll take more time,” cautioned School Committee Vice Chair Steve Bjork.
“We need to make the right decision. It needs to be done the right way,” added School Committee member Manny Mulas.
“Personally, I would not want to rush this decision,” echoed School Committee member MJ Brynes. “I’m not in a rush to push something if it doesn’t feel right.”
School Committee candidates Amy Largenton and Jenn Bryson were in attendance.
During public comments, Largenton stressed the importance of making sure the chosen candidate has classroom experience. (Former Superintendent Mary DeLai was never a classroom teacher.) Largenton also supported the committee’s decision to issue a public update within a few days of its Executive Session. Bryson asked the committee about its selection criteria and offered a suggestion about reaching out to emerging leaders in the superintendent field.
10 residents and school employees were in the audience. The 45-minute meeting was held in the Wilmington High School Library.
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