Members sought for Gill-Montague Superintendent Search Committee

MONTAGUE — The Gill-Montague Regional School District School Committee is seeking volunteers to serve on a 15-member Superintendent Search Committee, which will begin its work to find a community-centered leader in the new year.

The district is seeking applicants by Thursday, Jan. 1. Those who applied will be notified of the selection decisions on Friday, Jan. 2.

The Superintendent Search Committee will be made up of two current Gill-Montague students; three parents or guardians of current students; three community members, with one representing Montague, another from Gill and the third from Erving; one school principal; one central administrator; three teachers from across different towns and schools; one administrative assistant; and one member of Gill-Montague support staff, like an instructional assistant, cafeteria worker, custodian or maintenance worker.

Those who are selected will be tasked with finding a new superintendent who has experience in educational leadership and school budgets; a prioritized interest in communication between families and the larger community; and an interest in student engagement, according to the school district brochure with the job description.

Applicants are asked to ensure they are available for mandatory meetings in January, starting with a training session on Thursday, Jan. 8, a discussion of the superintendent applicants and selection of semi-finalists on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and committee interviews of semi-finalists and the selection of finalists between Jan. 26 and Jan. 29. Superintendent applications are being accepted through Jan. 16.

School Committee Chair Jane Oakes said she recalls the search process the district underwent to hire former Superintendent Brian Beck and she saved the Superintendent Search Committee description from that hiring process, which has been updated for this search. Interim Superintendent Tari Thomas has been at the helm of the district since July after Beck resigned.

Before the formation of a Superintendent Search Committee was voted on, School Committee members discussed and provided feedback on the makeup of the group, with School Committee member Carol Jacobs sharing that she felt more than two teachers should serve on the committee.

In a similar vein, School Committee member Steve Ellis asked if this Superintendent Search Committee description is a balanced distribution of representation, noting that there are fewer educational professionals involved than parents or community members.

 “I don’t begrudge anyone their voice in the process of hiring a superintendent, and I don’t want it to come off that way, but I’m just looking at the balance of it,” Ellis said.

Ellis later added that the ideal situation would be to have one teacher from each of the Gill-Montague schools serve on the committee to provide their input.

Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) Field Director Tracy Novick noted the School Committee members are allowed to amend the makeup of the Superintendent Search Committee as they see fit.

By the end of the discussion, Jacobs made the motion to amend the group’s makeup by adding a third teacher seat. Her motion was unanimously approved.

District profile

As part of the search process, the MASC has been working with the district to collect feedback from stakeholders about what they’d like to see in a new superintendent, which informed the creation of the district profile. This profile highlights what towns and schools make up the Gill-Montague district; the makeup of the School Committee; the number of teaching, administrative and support staff members; the school budget; and a starting date and salary for the superintendent.

Novick shared that through her outreach to the school community, she spoke with teachers at all the schools, along with students from the middle and high schools. She also spoke with central administrators, and a community survey garnered 81 responses. Thirty-seven percent of respondents were teachers, 31% were parents and guardians, and the remaining 32% were other district staff and community members. A public feedback session was also held on Nov. 25, but only two people, both of whom are district teachers, attended.

In compiling the feedback, Novick said there was an emphasis on seeking a superintendent who would be community-focused and communicative to staff, students and families. Other responses highlighted the district’s strength in programs of study and the high quality of teachers and staff.

In reviewing the district profile and draft brochure, School Committee member Wendy Thompson asked if there was a possibility to make prior superintendent experience a requirement for applicants, but Novick said the stipulation could end up “eliminating about three-quarters” of the applicants. Ellis inquired about using the term “strongly preferred” within the application, to which Novick replied that using the word “preferred” makes a statement about the district’s desired candidate.

“Even having the sentence, ‘Experience as superintendent preferred,’ itself is something that [many district profiles don’t include], so you’re actually making a statement even by including that phrase, that that’s something that you’re looking for,” Novick explained.

School Committee Vice Chair William Tomb said he’d like to see the district be open to reviewing all applicants regardless of whether they have previous superintendent experience, saying it would open the pool to a larger swath of candidates with comparable experiences across different fields of study.

By the end of the discussion on the district profile, the committee voted to approve its language as amended, while stipulating that prior superintendent experience is preferred.

To apply to serve on the Superintendent Search Committee, visit the Google Form at tinyurl.com/77ruzjcj.