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Superintendent Search Committee sets January interviews

Date: 12/21/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW -- Now that the focus groups have gathered information on what school staff, administrators, parents and community members want in a new superintendent, the Superintendent Search Committee can begin its work.

The 15-member committee met Thursday evening to discuss their plan of action with Dr. Bruce Willard of the New England School Development Council (NESDEC), who is aiding the district in finding a replacement for E. Jahn Hart, who will be retiring at the end of the school year.

"They clearly will have big shoes to fill," Mary Vogel, chair of the Superintendent Search Committee, as well as the School Committee, said of Hart's replacement.

The deadline for applications for the position is Dec. 30, and Willard said that as of Dec. 17, he had already received seven. There are currently nine districts looking for new superintendents, including East Longmeadow, so Willard said the process should be completed "as expeditiously as possible."

Willard explained that the search committee's role is now a screening one -- they will review applications and then interview the candidates of their choosing in executive session. Once that's done, the committee will send its top choices to the School Committee for final interviews.

"My role is in recruitment," Willard stated. "I provide you with as much information on the candidates as I can, and I work with this committee and the School Committee until we're done."

He added that with a district of Longmeadow's size, he expects seven or eight candidates to be interviewed.

The search committee hammered out dates for the process at the Dec. 17 meeting. Its members will do final reviews of applications and select interview candidates on Jan. 13; interviews will be conducted on Jan. 18, 20, 27 and 28 (all dates may not be needed).

"We hope to have most of the work done in January, and we hope to have someone selected by mid-March," Vogel said. "It's an aggressive time table ... [but] we do have the option to extend the process if necessary."

Vogel noted that whoever is selected will need to deal with the financial challenges currently being faced in the town, but Willard told Reminder Publications that that negative doesn't outweigh the district's positive aspects.

"Longmeadow has an outstanding reputation," he said. "That's beneficial for them. People are familiar with Longmeadow schools. It's also a very desirable community to live in."

Willard added that he expects to receive between 15 and 20 pplications before the deadline.