Two Island educators make short list in superintendent search

Oak Bluffs Principal Richard Smith and Assistant Superintendent Matthew D’Andrea are the two finalists.

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Richard Smith, Oak Bluffs School principal, shown in this 2012 file photo, is a finalist for the job of superintendent. – Martha's Vineyard Times file photo

The All-Island School Committee (AISC) announced Tuesday that the search for a new Martha’s Vineyard school superintendent has been narrowed down to two finalists. Assistant Superintendent of the Martha’s Vineyard Schools Matthew D’Andrea and Oak Bluffs Elementary School Principal Richard Smith are the two finalists in the search to replace James H. Weiss, who will retire on July 1st.

AISC chairman David Rossi of Edgartown outlined the schedule for the final chapter in the search process. It calls for interviews of the two candidates by all 12 committee members on Wednesday and Thursday of next week and a final vote on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The committee will interview Mr. D’Andrea from 5 pm to 7 pm on Jan. 14 and Mr. Smith on Jan. 15. The interviews, as well as the discussion on final selection and the vote, will take place in the high school library and are open to the public.

The selection committee received information packets from 18 candidates and then conducted interviews with five. James M. Hardy, a consultant with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, which was retained to advise on the process, facilitated the search.

In a telephone call Wednesday, Mr. Smith said, “The whole process with Jim Hardy has been very professional. When necessary, things were held in strict confidence, and the whole community was well-represented in the search committee. I am very excited to have made it this far, and while it is a bit nerve-wracking to be so clearly in the public spotlight, that is the nature of the superintendent’s role, and I am getting used to it. I’ll be ready for all the questions next week. I am honored to be a finalist. It’s really good when people feel confident in you. It’s an exciting day.”

Mr. D’Andrea said he thought the process had been complete and informative. “The screening committee clearly represented groups from across the Island, and I am pleased to have gotten this far,” Mr. D’Andrea said. “Despite all the challenges facing the education budget process, in the end it is a matter of coming together as a community in order to meet the needs of the children. I look forward to the opportunity next week to answer the school committee’s questions about how to do that efficiently. I am honored to be a finalist, and hope to be named superintendent.”

In other business Tuesday, the committee approved a new school calendar that includes dates for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

Mr. Weiss said that many people had requested school calendars be prepared two years in advance so that Island residents can better plan their schedules and vacations. As a result, a committee was formed to develop a calendar for two years in advance. The calendar will be distributed over the coming weeks and posted on all the school web sites.

AISC members also heard from Sam Hart, the director of adult community education (ACE MV). The organization wants approval to use the high school procurement process as a way to channel $50,000 in funding requests placed on town warrants to support ACE programs in FY 2016.

Using this approach, the program received $90,000 last year to help underwrite its wide range of adult evening classes. When asked about ACE’s “financial sustainability” in the future, Mr. Hart noted that ACE had doubled the number of gifts received in the past six months from its fundraising efforts. He also pointed to an expansion of career-development programs as a critical future requirement based upon data gathered from surveys of potential students on the Island. A motion to approve the use of the procurement (RFP) process as a conduit for funds passed with a unanimous vote.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported  the date of the vote to choose a new superintendent as June 28. It is Jan. 28.