CHARLEMONT — Hawlemont Regional School District School Committee members collectively praised Interim Principal Amber Tulloch earlier this week as they endorsed keeping her in the position permanently and discussed potentially hiring an interim superintendent.
Committee members advocated for the separation of principal and superintendent positions as the district prepares to be without its two-district agreement with Mohawk Trail Regional School District, which is set to expire June 30. Sheryl Stanton currently serves as superintendent of both districts.
Chair Hussain Hamdan said interviews will be held in mid-March during executive session to evaluate a pool of interim superintendent candidates, with a public session slated for late March.
Hamdan initiated the topic of Tulloch’s performance as the committee engaged in budget discussions.
“I have heard a tremendous amount of concern from people as to what happens if (the two-district agreement) fails and we have to hire a superintendent, and a lot of concern about the idea of having a superintendent/principal and replacing a current principal, who, by all accounts I’ve heard, is doing an outstanding job,” Hamdan said.
Tulloch, a teacher with the school’s Hawlemont, Agriculture and You (HAY) program, has served as interim principal since the sudden departure of former Principal Lindsay Rodriguez in December.
During this week’s meeting, Hamdan voiced support for Tulloch to stay in the position long-term.
“I think Amber has been doing a very good job and whatever arrangement ends up happening … I really do hope Amber remains in the district in the school as the principal and I would certainly — if I were called upon to vote in such a scenario as to what we were doing — I would want to preserve that status quo,” Hamdan said.
“I would just like to say I support Amber 100% and agree with all those sentiments,” School Committee member Beth Flaherty added. “I’d like to see us find a way forward where she stays on board at the helm.”
Committee member Suzanne Crawford invoked Tulloch’s success within her designated position as added rationale for why a combined superintendent and principal position would be less-than-ideal moving forward.
“I, too, have heard lovely things about what Amber is doing and feel like it’s really important to preserve that role because there’s so much work, especially surrounding discipline and other things like that that are important for the principal to be able to focus on,” she said. “I believe it would be too much to add a superintendent’s job onto that.”
Financially, Hamdan said, the cost of hiring an interim superintendent can vary.
“Depending on who we get as a candidate,” he explained, “those numbers could be a little different in those scenarios, which is why I’m planning to have our Budget Subcommittee meeting right after that.”
Currently, Crawford said, Hawlemont is paying $15,000 for superintendent services within the two-district agreement. Should Hawlemont not renew the agreement, Hamdan said, the price the district would pay for a superintendent would likely increase.
“I do not believe there’s a scenario where running it all in-house would be less expensive than (the two-district agreement rate),” he said.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.