The All-Island School Committee (AISC) voted Thursday evening to name Dr. Sonya Stevens of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (MVH) as the new district physician.
She will take over for Dr. Jeff Zack.
“For many years, we have had Dr. Jeff Zack as our district physician. There have been a number of times since I’ve been here that I’ve had to request assistance from him,” superintendent Matt D’Andrea said during the AISC meeting. “He has always been terrific.”
But, according to D’Andrea, Zack has decided to step down from his position as acting district physician.
Both Stevens and Zack worked with schools on Martha’s Vineyard as part of the Islandwide health and safety committee, which oversaw and helped implement pool testing procedures, determined efficient ways to get school staff vaccinated, and included school officials, as well as local health agents.
Stevens is an attending pediatric physician at MVH, and has been practicing pediatric medicine since 1998, according to the hospital website.
D’Andrea said he spoke with Stevens about the idea of her becoming the district physician, and she told him she is willing to take on the job.
The school posted the position publicly, as they do each year, but there are usually no applicants, so the jobholder has remained the same.
Committee members voted unanimously to accept Stevens as the new district physician.
Immediately prior to the AlSC meeting, during a meeting of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee, members decided to move forward with the tech infrastructure warrant article for this year’s slate of town meetings as presented to Island boards of selectmen.
The overall cost of the project currently sits at approximately $657,000, with Tisbury’s contribution obligation around $180,000.
At an earlier meeting, committee members were considering splitting the tech overhaul project in half, and requesting funding from the towns over a two-year period. The reason for this initial plan was that Tisbury selectmen requested that school officials spread out the funding request, as the town of Tisbury is looking at a hefty bill for a new school.