High school students across the Island will officially have new leadership next year after both the regional and charter high school leaders announced upcoming departures from their positions.
Despite hopes that Sean Mulvey, the interim pick for the principal of the high school, would stay on permanently, it was announced on Monday that he will serve only for the remainder of this school year. The decision comes amid concerns about the number of open leadership positions in schools Island-wide, and in the midst of a costly high school building project.
Mulvey, a former guidance counselor at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), was brought in as the principal of the school in an interim capacity at the beginning of this year. He was tapped for the lead position after a strong endorsement from Superintendent of Schools Richie Smith, and was then confirmed by the school committee last summer.
But at an MVRHS committee meeting on Monday night, Smith announced Mulvey’s decision to move back to his previous job as a high school counselor. Smith said he is working with the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to search for a new principal, and that he planned to post the job listing online on Tuesday.
“Though he’s not going to continue on past this year, I believe that some of the things he’s put in place — certainly the manner in which he’s conducted his leadership in the school — I think that will have some lasting impacts,” Smith said to the committee.
The decision by Mulvey comes at a time of flux regarding school administrators. Smith announced his impending retirement in September; the head of the Charter School announced his upcoming job off-Island last month; and there are a few other open staffing positions across the schools, including for assistant superintendent. All administrators are ending their terms at the end of this school year, along with Mulvey.
“My main goal in taking on the role of principal this year was to give our school plenty of time to conduct an exhaustive search for a new principal. Richie and I talked recently, and I confirmed with him that this was still my plan. I am very optimistic that through the search process, the committee will find some great candidates,” Mulvey said in a statement to The Times.
While some committee members were confident about the amount of time to find another candidate, others brought up concerns about the multitude of open positions.
“I’m very concerned that there’s a lot of other searches going on right now, and a lot of moving parts,” Robert Lionette, school committee member, said. “We don’t want to settle. We want to make sure a candidate is someone we’re excited about.”
Smith agreed. “These leadership positions are challenging. They’re very rewarding, very fulfilling, but also demand quite a bit,” he said. He added that he “feels strongly” that they’re going to find somebody for the role, and cited the many administrators across Island schools who might be interested in the position.
There was a consensus among the committee that they don’t want to hire on an interim basis again.
Skipper Manter, chair of the MVRHS Committee, said he’s concerned about the amount of new administrators who will be starting around the same time. In the best-case scenario, the superintendent and principal roles are filled by next year, and, he said, it will be hard for both positions to succeed if each is learning the ropes.
The MVRHS building itself is also at a critical stage this year. There’s an Island-wide vote for the estimated nearly $350 million capital project going before voters in the spring, and this off-season is when a lot of planning and educational outreach will occur, according to the building committee.
And school administrators note there are other points of concern that have come up in the past year in regard to hiring and the retirement age of current teaching staff.
Many departments have qualified teachers at the helm, but the next few years could be a time of instability as more and more educators come to retirement age. In an interview over the summer, Smith said more than 60 percent of public school teachers on the Island are at the “top step” of their salary, meaning they’re making the most money they possibly can per year. While this can be an indication of experience level, it can also point to the amount of time they’ve been in the role.
During a recent housing bank legislative session, MVRHS Building Committee Chair Amy Houghton said the Vineyard school system’s seen significant upheaval in administrative positions, naming housing as the No. 1 barrier to hiring.
“We face challenges in staffing critical positions in the school system,” Houghton said at the legislative session. “In the past two years, we have had openings for superintendent, assistant superintendent, and four out of six principals at our elementary schools.”
There are even bigger problems not mentioned in this article. There are too many school boards. Financial support for the schools is drawn from towns least able to pay, and the central administration is housed in an old church poorly redesigned and overcrowded. Failing to address these problems makes the problems of aging staff and aging buildings even more difficult. Failing to address these underlying issues is therefore damaging to ongoing generations of children.
Yes. We need the new high school. New leadership, too. No question. But we also need an organization better designed to support all the schools, and all the children, into the future.
The R word? Yes. Get over it.
Thank you for continuing to speak up Mr.Palches!
You are 100% correct. Time for two, all island school commitees, one for elementary and one for the high school . The meeting schedule is a time waster with redundant information and keeps good candidates from wanting leadership positions. We had proposed the Superintendent building be housed in a new high school , some
of the towns thought it was a waste of money , an example of the problem. Too many cooks in the kitchen .
How about start hiring a new principal who supports a bring your own device program similar to what Concord Carlisle regional high School does in Concord Massachusetts