The search for a permanent high school principal has come down to two candidates, and Islanders can meet them next Wednesday and Thursday when they each tour the school that one of them may soon oversee.
Dennis Mahony, the former principal of Winchester High School, and Bryan Lombardi, the principal of Stoneham High School, have been named as the final picks, down from 13 candidates, for principal of Martha’s Vineyard High School (MVRHS).
“Our two finalists are seen as possessing the skills, values, and vision to lead MVRHS as its next principal,” Richard (“Richie”) Smith, the current superintendent, stated in a letter he sent to students and parents last week when he announced the final candidates.
The letter came just a few weeks after a new superintendent, Jaime Curley, was named to succeed Smith by a search committee. Curley will take over the role this coming June, pending successful contract negotiations.
The new principal will also have to navigate the high school building project, a costly addition and renovation that’s slated to start construction in 2027. A huge step in the project happened Wednesday morning, when the Massachusetts School Building Authority approved the project, including reimbursement funding of about $71 million, bringing the total remaining cost to $262.2 million that Islanders and municipalities will be responsible for.
As for the principal picks, Mahony became a principal in 2016 when he was hired to head up Winchester High School in Massachusetts. He held the position for nearly a decade. In his district, he provided stability and a long tenure at a time of high turnover for principals. He was previously the assistant principal at Wilmington High School.
The other candidate, Lombardi, is the current principal of Stoneham High School, outside of Boston, where he’s served since 2019. Before that, he was principal of Northampton High School, a position he held for nearly 12 years. In both jobs, he was described in regional news outlets as a steady force for students and teachers with an arts-driven focus.
Both candidates were known for their long terms at their respective schools, and both also had a hand in bolstering arts and performance programs.
Mahony will tour the Vineyard high school on Wednesday, March 4 and Lombardi on Thursday, March 5, with a public community meeting from 3:30 pm to 5 pm each day.
Neither of the potential principals are Island residents, but if one of them gets the position, that person will be a Vineyarder — donned in the school colors of purple and white, and navigating the ebbs and flows of student and teacher needs in a new community.
“I’m so happy with the quality of the candidates that applied. It was tough getting them down to two but they’re both very exciting finalists,” Smith said in an interview with The Times. He said what stuck out most about both was “their enthusiasm for the position.”
Considerations like housing, their relocation to the Island, and familiarizing themselves with the community, would all come in time, Smith said. He noted that other recent principal hires moved to the Island to work and secured housing along the way, or are in the process of doing so, namely Kate Campbell of the Edgartown School, and Kate Squire, principal of the Chilmark School.
The final pick will also be tasked with the uniqueness of one of the only educational hubs for Island teenagers. The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School also hosts high school students, but usually less than ten in each graduating class, making MVRHS the central meeting point for 9th through 12th grade students.
Those students are a diverse group: More than one third speak another language besides English at home. Many of them will also be enrolled in classes while the building itself undergoes extensive planned renovations that will span multiple years and cost $333.5 million dollars.
The new hire will take over for Sean Mulvey, who has been serving in the role on an interim basis, and will go back to his job as a counselor at the end of this school year. His insight, Smith said, will be crucial for whoever next fills the principal position.
While the high school was once marred by frequent leadership changes, it had a constant in Sara Dingeldy, who was the principal for nine years before Mulvey and now works in the central office, assisting students Island-wide. When the search began in December, school committee members expressed their intention to find another long-term leader.
The committee put together the MVRHS Principal Search Committee, made up of members of various towns, teachers, and student representatives, and tasked them with finding a new leader — one who would stand the test of time and provide stability to the Island’s most populated regional high school.
“We’ll definitely make it work,” Smith said. “There’s a cocoon of support around them.”
As long as the candidates are aware of the difficulties in finding a residence on the Island….