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Date: 7/6/2021
HATFIELD – During a meeting on June 29, the Hatfield School Committee discussed interviews with the finalists for the interim superintendent position before agreeing to offer a contract with Michael Wood.
The committee sought out an interim superintendent in response to Martin McEvoy’s April decision to resign after one year as the head of Hatfield schools.
Committee member Christy Boudreau said Wood would bring in a fresh perspective and add value to the position.
“Michael Wood stands out to me; I think he would bring a fresh perspective and fresh eyes. If we are going to hire an interim superintendent, I think we are looking for somebody that can add value, and I think Michael Wood could do that,” she said.
One of the differences that committee member Danielle Stanisewski said stood out to her is that Wood has 22 years of experience as a superintendent.
“The particular difference between the two of them for me is that Wood has 22 years as a superintendent. [Candidate Patricia] Bell has a partial year as an interim superintendent and she was an assistant superintendent, most of her career has not been in administration. Having had all of those superintendent experiences is beneficial,” she said.
School Committee Chair Rebecca Bench said she thought Bell would be a good fit for a smaller district like Hatfield.
“I felt that Ms. Bell demonstrated a more robust understanding of working in a small district and felt that she displayed what it would take to be a superintendent in a district like Hatfield, which impressed me. My initial impressions are that Ms. Bell might be a better fit, but they were both qualified options,” she said.
Committee member Jennifer Maloney said one of Wood’s responses that stood out to her was that he wants to make a difference in the district.
“I really liked Mr. Wood’s experience. When he did his introduction, one of the things that I marked down that he said was, ‘Every day you move the marker forward and make a difference,’ and that was something that we talked about, that we want somebody here that wants to make a difference,” she said.
Boudreau added that it was important to her that Wood said he wanted to make sure the district is in the best possible position moving forward after his interim year.
“He had mentioned that while this is an interim year he wanted to come in and make sure we are set up for the next year whether it is him or someone else. He wanted to make sure that we are in the best place we could possibly be, and I thought that was very important,” she said.
One of the ways committee member Catherine Englehardt said Bell stood out to her was that she did her research and provided specific examples directly related to Hatfield during her interview.
“I thought she had done her research and her answers were more pointed and specific. When talking about the budget she gave more specific examples. I appreciated that she went in and did her research on our district and her answers were specific to Hatfield,” she said.
Englehardt added that she appreciated the way Bell said she coached her fellow administrators in her previous work.
“She talked about coaching her fellow administrators and their positions and pushing them outside of their comfort zone for some valuable work experiences. I really felt that when she talked about when the pandemic hit and had a nervous principal and worked it out, I saw it as really beneficial for the professional development of the team,” she said.
Ultimately, the committee unanimously agreed to enter negotiations with Wood for the interim superintendent position.
During the meeting, the committee also tabled votes over naming a new director of finance and an on-call interim superintendent until the negotiations with Wood are finalized.
Bench spoke to the on-call superintendent and said that former superintendent John Roberts had volunteered to serve in an on-call capacity until the new administration is underway.
“I am deeply happy to bring forward that John Robert has offered to assist in our transition period from July 1 until our new administration is on board in an on-call capacity to provide support,” she said.