NORTHFIELD — A decision on an interim superintendent to replace Ruth Miller has been delayed by probably two weeks, said Pioneer Valley Regional School Committee chairwoman Pat Shearer. The School Committee had planned to make its decision at its meeting today.
But, because of concerns over whether the board violated a state Open Meeting Law by holding interviews of five candidates in close-door sessions, the superintendent search subcommittee will now conduct those interviews in public, Shearer said. Those interviews are to be conducted over the next two weeks, with a partial schedule likely to be posted Friday.
Based on the preliminary interviews, the subcommittee will select two candidates for the full School Committee to vote on at a later meeting.
The School Committee will still meet tonight at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Valley Regional School. The agenda includes recommendations from district administrators on options for budget cuts, an update from the state Department of Revenue on the district’s financial problem and initiation of a study on closing an elementary school. These all follow an emergency meeting last week when it was announced that the district is staring at a deficit of almost $1 million.
Miller, who serves as both superintendent and business manager for the district, announced last June this would be her last year.
Here are the five candidates in the running for interim superintendents. Two of the applicants already work for the district.
Bob Clancy: Principal of both Pearl Rhodes Elementary School and Bernardston Elementary School. Clancy, previously principal of Rowe Elementary School, has been at Bernardston Elementary since 2011 and became Pearl Rhodes principal since 2017.
Robert Gazda: Former superintendent and principal of the Gilbert School, a private school for grades 7-12 in Winstead, Conn., until his retirement in 2004. Gazda served as an interim superintendent in Belchertown, from July 2014 to January 2015. He is also an adjunct professor at Westfield State University, Shearer said.
James Culkeen: Superintendent of Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union in Bennington, Vt., since 2011, Shearer said. Before that, he had been superintendent for eight years at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg.
Suzanne Scallion: Former superintendent for Westfield public schools from 2011 until her retirement in 2016, according to her Linkedin profile.
Jonathan Scagel: A teacher at Pioneer Valley Regional School with certification to be an administrator, Shearer said.