JAY – A high school teacher presented the School Committee on Thursday with 39 signatures of staff members who want more say in the selection of a new high school principal.
Longtime Principal Peter Brown is retiring after this school year.
Annette Girardin, a high school math teacher, said she had received a copy of Superintendent Robert Wall’s principal selection process outline Wednesday and was shocked to see that staff members would have limited input in the process.
The staff want input from the beginning of the process, she said.
Girardin said she was on the search committee when Brown was hired.
She said the proposed selection process places staff in an advisory capacity and does not include them in the decision-making as “we have been in the past.”
Wall’s proposal calls for the superintendent, the School Committee chairman and a selected administrative team representative to screen the credentials and application materials of all candidates.
That three-member team would interview all the qualified internal candidates and the top external candidates.
From this process, the superintendent will provide three candidates to a 10-member committee that would include two principals, two staff members with certificates and two classified staffers from the same school where the vacancy exists, two community members and two students.
The committee would interview the three candidates and each committee member would articulate the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. This information would be submitted to the superintendent, who may conduct second interviews in conjunction with the full School Committee and conduct site visits.
The superintendent would recommend the final candidate to the School Committee and the committee would have access to the notes submitted by the search committee members.
Wall also noted that because the school department is interested in the opinions of each individual committee member rather than in a group consensus, it is unnecessary and inappropriate to attempt to influence the opinions of others before, during, or after the interviews.
Girardin’s proposal calls for a selection committee to consist of the superintendent, a School Committee member, an assistant principal from the same school where the vacancy exists, a guidance counselor, two teachers, an educational technician, a secretary, a parent, and a student.
All 10 members would screen the credentials and application materials of all the candidates and interview all qualified candidates. After the interviews each committee member would select their first and second choice for the position, noting strengths and weaknesses. The committee will then discuss and make a final decision, which the superintendent would recommend to the School Committee.
“I really feel we don’t have any say,” Girardin said.
Board Chairman Clint Brooks said he appreciated the input but was comfortable with the process as outlined by the superintendent. He added that he didn’t see the initial committee consisting of only three members.
Jay Education Association President Sherry Gilbert suggested a compromise of adding a teacher to the initial screening team.
Brooks said he would check to make sure the process follows the high school policy.
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