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[The following minutes fetched from the district site on 2009-12-02 --webmaster]

WESTBOROUGH SCHOOL COMMITTEE

WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS

MINUTES

Tuesday November 10, 2009

The Westborough School Committee meeting was called to order at 5:25 p.m. by Chairman, Karen Henderson. Committee members present included Mr. Bruce Tretter, Mrs. Ilyse Levine-Kanji, Mr. Stephen Doret and Mr. Craig Harris.

Mrs. Henderson noted that the meeting was not being videotaped. She stated that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the results of the survey for the superintendent search, and to determine the best way to present the results publicly. She said the Committee would be finalizing the criteria for the search, coming up with a list of 6-8 items based on what the Committee thinks is important as well as feedback from the survey. Mrs. Henderson said they would be looking at the pros and cons of internal versus external candidates, getting input from other people, the timeline, and the plan for presenting it all at next week’s School Committee meeting. She stated that the Committee members had received the survey results, and asked for comments.

Mr. Tretter said that he felt the responses were good, and that there were similar threads throughout. Mrs. Henderson added that there were 150 responses received, although a few had simply checked off the category they belonged to (parent, staff) and not completed the survey. It was a good mix, with 75 from parents, 60 from staff, and 8 from administrators.

Mrs. Levine-Kanji said she felt that the administrators’ feedback was very helpful, with most suggesting the Committee go internal. She said that while some staff took the opportunity to “slam” various people, there was some valuable input as well. Mr. Harris also remarked on the common themes, noting the good school system, Mrs. O’Connor, the faculty, and that the decision should be made collaboratively.

Mrs. Henderson stated that we have a good system, how can we make it better? We have good communicators, strength in relationship building, and visibility. These are critical factors. Integrity, experience and honesty were also listed as important qualities, as was having a person who’s invested in the community. Mrs. Levine-Kanji added that people’s perceptions about the current superintendent may affect the criteria they want for a new superintendent. Mr. Tretter said they should present the list of criteria mentioned in the survey at the next Committee meeting, including the skill set they want. Mr. Doret stated that the benefit of the survey was it allowed the Committee to learn the depths of the concerns parents and staff have for the school system.

Mrs. Henderson will summarize the survey results at the next meeting, listing the strengths internally, as well as the areas that may not be so strong. She said that the posting expires on November 13^th for internal candidates to apply. Mrs. Henderson will also present the criteria that will be used, including a list of bulleted items which the Committee proceeded to brainstorm.

Why Internal?

1. Credibility

2. Local experience/history

3. Continuity

4. Time/Resources

5. Rapport

6. Known quantity

7. Candidate pool - a puddle

8. Many issues on the plate

9. Not lose quality person already here

School Committee Meeting 2.

November 10, 2009

Criteria/Qualities

1. Budget to quality

2. Communication skills (school/town)

3. Relationship building

4. Decisive - tough decisions, budget/staffing, operations

5. Educational leadership

· establishing district educational goals

· developing system under constraints

· innovations and creativity

· managing state/federal mandates

· involvement in professional organizations

6. Management skills

· hiring quality staff

· supervision/oversight

7. Whole child - individual needs of all children

8. Collective bargaining/contracts

Mrs. Henderson noted that the last time the Committee hired a superintendent, unemployment was at 1.8%; now it’s at 7.6% and is expected to rise. She said the next steps were to look at the internal candidates, who would be known by 11/13, and then to schedule interviews. The Committee discussed whether it should be an open public forum for the interviews where anyone could come, or if there should be a session for faculty and staff, and a second one for the community. They also considered whether the interviews should be conducted in back-to-back sessions on the same day, an afternoon session and an evening session, or separate days. It was suggested that it should not be done on camera, and that the duration would be from 60-90 minutes. The Committee proposed the week of 12/7 for the interviews, to be followed by public question and answer sessions during the subsequent week.

MOTION

At 6:50p.m. upon a motion by Mrs. Henderson, seconded by Mr. Doret, the Committee voted 5-0 in favor of adjournment.

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Respectfully submitted

Ilyse Levine-Kanji

Secretary

These minutes are as recorded by the secretary to the school committee and do not become an official part of the record until so noted in a subsequent record.