School Committee: October 11, 2023

Transcript captured from MHTV’s Vimeo auto-captioning. No speaker labels; proper names and dollar figures occasionally misheard. Click any timecode to jump to that moment in the source video.

0:00 Dress up a little bit. Okay. So I just wanted to, um, Allison, are we, can you gimme a, can you hear us? Yep. Okay. So I just was saying, just to let the public know, we had a complaint come in, um, filed with, again, as American with Disabilities Act complaint filed by Mary McCarrison. Um, due to an inability to hear while we work through a solution for this, this just came in today, the problem is we cannot use amplification with the poly system that allows us to zoom. So while tech figures out a solution, whether that’s purchasing new equipment or whatever that may be, we have,

0:45 we may have to go to either only zoom or only in person because we, we can’t make, um, both work while we’re seeking that solution because the, the feedback from just a general amplifier winds up conflicting with the poly system and as it’s a constant reverberation, if you will. So, um, I just wanted to put that out there in case people are wondering when the next posting goes up. If we haven’t found a solution in the next couple days when I post for next week’s meeting, we’ll have to go with one or the other. Um, and with the pursuit of getting back to hybrid as soon as possible, um, the reason for hybrid being to, to make it as accessible to people as possible for people who,

1:32 for whatever reason, wanna join in from home. So they can, they can do that. Um, so just wanted to, to give that information rather than, um, having people unaware of why the posting sheets. Um, so that brings us to public comment. If anybody has a hand up, um, in the window here, if you can just raise it. And then I see a hand here in the audience. If you can go to the table and, um, state your name and address for the record.

2:03 Larry McCarrison 46 Drive. So there has been many meetings that I’ve and other, um, Mr. PE in the audience asked you to please speak up to each and every one of you. Now, we never had a problem before, but, um, you know, when you are going like this, leaning over to try to get to Allison’s attention, okay? And then, uh, somebody else playing with the ponytail and somebody looking down, you need to be able to talk to the audience. And it’s not just me. Other, uh, people that are, let’s say in the older category has called me up and said the same thing. All I’ve asked many times, and other people have asked to please speak up and continue speaking up.

2:52 So, you know, I hate that it has to either be Zoom or in person. When I talk to the a d a, they said that possibly you need to move to a different place where you can use the microphones. So I don’t want the audience to think it’s me causing this problem. It’s you. All you have to do is raise your voice. Just think about when you have kids and you have to raise your voice. You have seven kids or six kids, you are gonna raise your voice. So that’s all I had been asking, and it’s been multiple times. Plus it was in the newspaper, so then I had to resort to the ada. A also, I went to the state and there could be an open, uh, meeting violation. They already told me I could file a complaint there.

3:38 So all you have to do is raise your voices. Thank you. And any other hands? I’m gonna give people a moment if they wanna raise their hands in the participant window. All right, so close public comment and move us to the discussion, um, regarding the assistant superintendent search, um, the superintendent, or sorry, the interim superintendent search. I apologize. Um, I will open it up to Megan, your person in my window. So I’ll ask you to start off with your, um, thoughts. We all had specific people to call for references, and if you just wanna start off the, just to let everybody know, the know,

4:25 the typical format of this would be for each committee member to share their thoughts on the candidates, um, any particular information that would be helpful that they received during their reference checks. Um, after we’ve gone through, you know, we’ll move to the next stage where we can entertain a motion.

4:46 So Megan, I’ll open it up to you. So I’ll kind of provide some feedback on, um, what I heard from the references, and I’d like to hear what, you know, what the reference checks from everybody else, um, turned up to. So I think, um, for both candidates, I heard themes from the references that I spoke to. Um, I think for both candidates, I heard themes of student centered, data focused, um, consistent communicators. They both, you know, did newsletters in their, in their roles. Um, I would say theme wise, what I heard on the references for Theresa McGinnis was she was the consensus builder. She was very passionate about what she did. Um,

5:33 I mentioned data focus that came up a few times, and clearly she’s very knowledgeable, especially, um, in terms of curriculum and instruction. In terms of themes for Janelle Pearson Campbell, um, I heard that she was a good listener and responsive. She was a problem solver. She was able to quickly build relationships with all stakeholders. Um, you know, I can say just from the interview, I think she was able to put the room at ease very quickly using humor, uh, which I thought was, um, you know, that’s definitely a skill and could be useful here in Marblehead. Um, and that she was professional and articulate. So I’d say those were the themes that I heard from the references.

6:22 Um, I think at the same time, we’re gonna go through, you know, and any other further comments that you have on the candidates, um, you know, the interviews and, and, and kind of where you stand on candidates. And then we’ll go through everybody and then hopefully at the end of that, there’ll kind of be a, a clear path and we’ll see. Yeah, I, I appreciate that Sarah, and I appreciate you giving me the opportunity. In all honesty, I would like to hear what the feedback was from all the references, um, before I kind of offer my, my, um, my thoughts, because it may change depending on what the res the reference is turned up, in all honesty. Um, Allison, you wanna go next?

7:09 Um, okay. Can you hear me? Yes. Yeah. Okay. I think I see Megan smiled. Okay. Um, sorry, I just couldn’t tell. Um, so I was able to speak to, um, a few references for Theresa, and through that, those, you know, just discussions kind of organically came up, how good a mentor and a leader she was. Also, how she could dive into data at a very deep level, uh, and really figure out what to do with that data and what the next steps should be as a result of that data. Uh, I thought that was, you know, super important, particularly on the heels of our M C A S discussion last time, uh, that she was a very strong advocate for,

7:58 you know, um, keeping everyone, everyone well, uh, with that, with that, uh, with that saying, which I think is, is so great, especially now that my son’s there. But, um, also that she believed in inclusion and d e i, but from the perspective of really ensuring that we were educating the public on how we were doing those things, and that we were sharing the curriculums, sharing the implementation methodology, sharing what the steps were going to be, um, one of them noted at, at one of the schools that she had been at previously, that she was really able to do that, particularly in a, in a district where there was a little bit of concern around it, by sharing as much information as possible and not allowing kind of

8:46 the fears of the unknown, which is often what can happen everywhere. It’s not particular to any one particular town. Um, the theme was definitely data driven and collaboration driven from all of the references there. It was nice to hear, of course, that she was a, a good mentor and a leader. Um, and then for Janelle, I, I believe I heard some of the same things that you mentioned, Megan, that she was a good listener, um, and that she did make com people feel comfortable. That was, that was one of the biggest themes there. I was only able to get a return phone call from one of the, um, individuals that was on my list, um, despite my efforts for, for Ms. Pearson, so that as well as she

9:32 had the ability to kind of, you know, making people feel comfortable, but also, um, relating and communicating to different levels of people, which of course is al al also important when you’re trying to share information. Um, and that she, um, she believed in ensuring each child should get what they need, um, in order to succeed,

9:57 Right? Yes, I was able to talk to the people I had volunteered to talk to. And as far as Janelle goes, um, she got some good acclaim for, uh, being the interim. She came into a district that had a lot of changes going on. She had two principals that had dropped out and was able to hire their replacements before the start of the school year, which was pretty rapid for somebody to do. She worked hard to resolve many of the issues, um, made efforts to meet with all the stakeholders, provide information to them in meetings, communications, as well as new lit, uh, newsletters and mailings to parents, teachers, and town officials. She was very collaborative. However, she did apply for the permanent superintendency in the district and was unsuccessful. I talked to, um,

10:43 a parent and a P T O president for her district, and she said she was seen in the schools and communicated with parents about the things she was doing. She visited all schools and helped provide stability and endurance, and very troubled times. With Theresa, I got quite a different, um, responses from her references. The first one is that she’s really smart and anyone knows Theresa, that it’s absolutely true. She understands the process and the steps needed to make changes that needed to be done. Her role, her role was huge. Her expertise was able to use the data to focus on the work ahead. She created professional development necessary to bring the staff up to speed on the data analysis tools and how to convert them into action plans. She developed really strong teams. Her communication skills are excellent.

11:31 She brought much needed stability and consistency to the district. And she also said she is absolutely ready to become a superintendent and will be missed if she gets the job. I also spoke to a parent, and she also had the very similar responses that she was one of the most dynamic leaders they’ve ever had, and she really, uh, was care for the children’s that she worked with. She’s an excellent communicator, uh, communicator, and kept well, well, what was going on. Her teacher is a daughter village is a well run school, and she was glad her child was under her care.

12:06 Thank you, Jen. So, I heard, I don’t wanna be redundant here. I, so I heard a lot of the, um, same themes. Is this volume okay? No, not really. All right. I’ll try to be a little, I’ll try to be a little bit louder. Um, so it was in regards to Ms uh, uh, Pearson Campbell. I had two, um, uh, references I was assigned to. I did speak to one. The other I did not hear back from, um, the reference I spoke to, um, had, uh, a lot of the same themes that I’ve, I’ve already heard here around her. Well, first of all, she did come into what was quote, a vocal community. Um, and she was coming into, um, a difficult time. They had a very large deficit, and that was when she was brought into the district. So she was given a crash force in, um, in a,

12:52 in a tough budget environment with what was called a vocal community. And that she was, um, a good communicator. And that was a message that I, I heard as well. Um, the other, um, positives, uh, you know, that the reference mentioned was that she believes in community. She’s a very community focused person, which I think we heard, and that she was very engaged with the schools. She immersed herself in the schools and, uh, and, and talked. And she talked about her, um, bringing in a lot of the assessments and the assessment tools that helped them, um, move forward academically. Um, and I think that was, that was it for Ms. Pearson, Campbell for, um, Ms. Uh, Dr. McGinnis or Ms. McInnis. Um, we did,

13:40 so I had one reference I spoke to, and then Sarah and I did a, a visit to, I wouldn’t call it a day in district. It was a visit to the district in Watertown. And we met, we had sort of fairly quick, uh, opportunities to speak to several people, um, including, um, uh, folks who were on her team as well, uh, for Dr. McGinniss. And again, not to repeat a lot of the same, um, messages that we heard around, um, totally data focused and working towards collecting data and then applying, um, the information from the data to, to approve student achievement. That was with throughout, uh, I think the message that we heard, or I heard, um, I don’t wanna be too repetitive here. Um, one that she does not micromanage,

14:28 but she is quote, a warm, demander unquote. So she does, um, apparently pull the best out of her people, but she does it in, um, a very, um, personal and, and kind way, and not in, in a micromanaged fashion. Um, other things we heard, or I heard was highly organized, um,

14:51 works very hard. That seemed to be a message or that that many of us have heard. Um, and student focused and student oriented. In fact, there was a quote,

15:03 it was along the lines of whenever there were difficulties or di discussions around getting to an answer, her focus is always what is, what is right for the students. And that is really driving, um, I think core value is what I heard. Um, so, you know, I, I think of Gary, everything needs to be said, but does it need to be said by everybody along the same lines of what everybody else heard? Um, when I called, I spoke to a couple of, um, Dr. Pearson Campbell’s references. Um, what I heard from both of them was she had a really strong start in their community. Um, and then ultimately, you know,

15:49 they did decide at the end of that year to go in, in a different direction, but had very nice things to say about Dr. Pearson, Campbell’s time there. Um, Dr. McGinnis, we spoke, I spoke to people, um, both via phone as well as the several individuals we met with when we were in district. The constant theme could be summarized by her response. Both in action and communication are very well thought out and data driven. Um, no kneejerk response is, um, there’s a reason people understand what the reason is behind in action. Um, when you are asked to make a change in your practice,

16:34 you’re a, when you’re asked to fund something, whatever the a is being asked, whether it’s students, whether it’s staff, whether it’s the community, you know, why, you know the data, you know the metrics, which will measure the success of that data. And then there will be a reevaluation. And what I did hear, ‘cause I was really interested in what happens when that plan doesn’t work out, is there a hesitation to pivot and try a new direction? And I was very happy to hear there is not that if needed, there can be a course correction, um, because it’s all data driven. And I think, you know, that’s w that was very meaningful to me. You know, you like the, I like the data-driven approach, but almost more importantly, if,

17:21 if then it doesn’t work, are you able to say, okay, this didn’t work, and we’ll find a new path. And rather than, you know, push people and students, this is all about students through something that isn’t benefiting. So that was, I think, the most impactful takeaway for me. Um,

17:42 I would also like to go through the same path and talk about, you know, our, now that we’ve heard all the reference checks, um, what each of us is thinking. Um, ‘cause again, we, we went through these interviews and we haven’t deliberated the interviews yet. Um, so then we can come to our final decision. So I’ll go through the same order, Megan, Allison, Brian, Jen, myself.

18:11 Um, so I appreciate everyone’s due diligence and feedback with the references. Thank you. That was helpful. Um,

18:21 I think this process was necessary. You know, you never know who is going to apply and what skill sets they’re gonna bring. Um, I think the committee did a good job and brought forward to great candidates, so I appreciate that. Um, they’re clearly both experienced and knowledgeable. Um, it sounds like we got good feedback from the references on, on both candidates. Um, Theresa’s clearly a consensus builder, passionate, student-centered, data-driven, you know, those are all skills and experience that I think would be helpful here in Marblehead. Um, and like I said earlier, Janelle just put the room at ease when she came in, and I really appreciated that humor and the energy she brought. Um, and I think what I’ve heard consistently, um,

19:08 from my references and from what you’ve all reported, is that she would be a great communicator, you know, be able to build those relationships, um, with key, you know, with all stakeholders. Um, and, you know, it was a good problem solver. So again, skills and experience that I think would be helpful here. I guess one of the things I’ve been thinking about though, as we come to this point is no matter who comes in, it’s an interim role. And by the nature of it, that’s just gonna create more disruption considering, you know, we’ve already started the school year, so I’ve just been thinking how do we do this in a way that limits disruption, but also is effective? And especially right now, you know, we’ve got schools that have opened smoothly and, um,

19:57 I feel like we’re kind of getting into a rhythm, which is really nice. And so to add more disruption at this point, you know, is a concern for me. You know, Brian, you said during the interviews that stability is one of the most important things we can offer right now. And I completely agree with that. And so I guess where I’m at right now is maybe we think about this in a different way. Um, I think Michelle’s been doing a really great job. I think she brings a breadth of experience just as much as the other two candidates do. Um, and that learning process, you know, she already has relationships built within the community that are productive and professional. Um, she’s built trust with all of our stakeholders across the board,

20:44 both internally and externally. So I guess I’m kind of thinking like, do we, can we also consider keeping Michelle in the role for all those reasons? Um, and so I wanna put that on the table too for the committee to consider.

21:02 I, before we open this for discussion,

21:07 I, first of all, I do wanna commend Michelle. She has been phenomenal at handling a multitude of situations and that we discovered along the way that we didn’t necessarily anticipate discovering along the way. Um, and I, I continue to be impressed on a daily basis, um, very, very, very, very highly Michelle. However,

21:37 I will say this is a discussion that really should have happened a few weeks ago. Um, it is, I apologize, it puts Michelle in a slightly awkward position right now. ‘cause she’s been very clear along the way that this is not something she wanted to take on. She really liked her, her career and her job description before. And so I, I do feel like that’s, this is, is also awkward. But we’ve also brought these candidates through a process that, and, and they agreed to come forward with their names publicly

22:26 based on a set of information that we just changed all the cards on with this conversation. And my concern with that is, is moving forward, I mean,

22:41 how does this work with future? Like, I just, I I worry about the form of this. Um, maybe we should just go around and see what everybody Yeah. Okay. Helps test. I don’t, yeah, I agree. Maybe we can just go around and that’s not Megan, you know, that I, yeah, it’s a little bit of a, you know, that’s fine. A turn and turn there. Um, yeah, And I, and I, sorry, can I just, Jen, sorry, just before you go, I agree. I kind of just threw a wrench in in the discussion a hundred percent. But just Sarah, just on your comments there though, I think

23:17 just given the candidates that came through and thinking about what is gonna be the least disruptive and most effective, that’s where I’m coming from. What is in the best interest of the district for an interim superintendent role, that that’s all. Um, you know, it has nothing to do with the candidates, you know, or the process. Um, so that’s just my, my feedback on that. Yeah, I just wish, wish this is a conversation we had had before we started this process because

23:51 well, I mean, for what a form of this. I mean, maybe we can just kind of go, go round. Yes, yes. And everyone, so I’ll go in the same order. Um, I’ll ask Alison to go next. Yeah, I think, um, maintaining the order is the best choice. I I don’t want to disagree with anything that Megan said about Michelle’s and I, I, again, I don’t wanna repeat everything. So everything that Megan has said about Michelle is spot on. She couldn’t be more wonderful. I think that she, you know, it’s, it’s certainly a role maybe she aspires to in a few years. Right now. I don’t think it’s what she wants. And I think that is one of the key pieces of this whole puzzle in, you know, I, I don’t want to have to beg her to do this.

24:37 And also kind of seeing potential repercussions from, you know, if she has to do superintendent stuff, how can the focus be on the budget? Which is also, as she knows better than anybody, a big, gigantic, enormous dinosaur of a thing that she needs to really get like neck deep in yesterday. Um, but I don’t wanna discount all of the fantastic work and how much a hundred percent faith that I have in you, Michelle. I don’t ever want that to be a concern or for anybody listening. Um, I also agree that, you know, Ms. Pearson, Campbell really did put the remedies and the way she kind of walked into, you know, a bit of a disruption. Um, I think that’s certainly important. Being able to put people at ease and feel comfortable is a skill. Absolutely.

25:26 Right. And not everybody has it, myself included. So I, I applaud that undoubtedly. I do think, and I, I certainly understand also the disruption, uh, that you mentioned, just kind of, you know, the constant change that we have had. It is a lot. Um, but I, it to, so to me, when I look at that, I see that that means it’s that much more important that we select someone that will be able to come in, understand, hit the ground running and do, um, being able to collaborate, being able to understand the data is important, but are they going to then turn around and do, um, and not just kind of, you know, um, play it out. And I think that that’s what I heard, you know, from my references and from,

26:13 you know, a few people in the community that I’ve spoken to that, you know, Dr. Mingus would do, is that it’s not just digging into the data. It’s not just collaborating. It’s then putting an action plan together and doing the work, which is what needs to be done. And I think that’s what something else that we also, you know, desperately need right now. Um, and so that, that would be my inclination just in this moment.

26:44 I believe we need academic leader to take over the district right now as an interim. Michelle knows how much I value her work and how excellent she is at the budget and the operations, but we are coming out of covid. Our M C A scores are slowly rising. We still have some deficits need to be made up. We need a superintendent who’s gonna be able to look at the data, work with the teams, and get them on the right path to continue to improve and excel pre covid scores and academics is very different from business management. So I really understand what you’re saying, Megan. I appreciate that. But I really think we need to have an academic leader in him and hit the ground running and just lead us through the rest of the school year.

27:32 Um, thanks. Thanks everyone. I think this is probably a classic example of open meeting and how great open meetings, we deliberate things, um, with new ideas and new concepts. So, um, you know, to Megan’s point, I’m not gonna belabor what, um, both the, um, other members said. I, I agree. I think it, your points were really well taken. I just, from where I’m sitting, I’ve had multiple conversations with Michelle over the last several months, um, and has, and we have discussed that, and Michelle has been pretty clear with me on multiple occasions that she has been an amazing, um, team player and stepped up into this leadership role, but feel strongly that this be, um,

28:18 a position for her while we are, while we, while we search and place an interim superintendent. And that, um, to me, also, to Brian’s point, that to have an academic leader, I think is very important at this time, instructional leader, curriculum leader, academic leader coming out of covid and coupled with the unbelievable strength we have with Michelle on the operations, facilities and business side. And that could be, you know, an amazing partnership that could get the school district, you know, back to where we were and, and obviously even higher levels of success. So the good news is that we had, as far as interim candidates were concerned, we had two amazing candidates. We really did. I mean, this was, this was a, a, an exercise in, you know,

29:07 having to make, um, a tough decision. Um, Dr. Pearson Campbell was, um, I was also agreed with her, um, very comfortable, um, way she made me feel comfortable in, um, you know, sitting in that, in that seat. She had a great sense of humor and a great sense of ease. Um, she talked a lot about that. She also talked a lot about data analysis and surveys, which I love surveys. She talked about doing PD surveys and community surveys, which were great, which could help, um, um, focus, um, where she would go in this interim position. And also talked a lot about, um, the standard based grading and standard based navigator. I learned something I didn’t know in regards to DESI providing that. So, um, definitely a, um, strong candidate. Dr. McGinnis, uh,

29:55 to me showed a tremendous amount of strength in the area of data analysis, focusing on what we are doing with our students and how we are gonna get our students to maximize their achievement. And she also spoke a lot about inclusivity and belonging, and a student sense of belonging and sense of worth, um, which is very important as we know in this, in this post covid era, how important the social emotional side of this is. I feel strongly that she is the stronger candidate she, for us at this time in Marblehead, and that she would be able to come into a position of leadership and

30:43 help us move forward. Even though we’ve already started the school year, I’m, I’m confident in her, with her 90 day plan and other things, she’s talked to us about, um, her ability to hit the ground running and to have us have a very successful year. Um, so what I’ll say is it, I, I do agree with what you just said, Jen. Um, I have, I have prior to this, been giving a lot of thought on when we bring someone in, how do we set them up for success best? Because quite honestly, their success is our student’s success. And there is nothing more important. My concern, to be perfectly honest, is

31:30 the vitriol in our community right now,

31:35 whoever comes in, if our community does not give them a chance to do their job and to prove themselves, that’s not giving anybody a fair shape. That’s not setting anybody up for success. Our students deserve that. Our students deserve whoever comes in to be given a clean shot at this. And so I, I have been very concerned, you know, I’ve, through this process, it became clear to me that I, I think Theresa would be a very strong candidate. Um, and she was very clear with us that, you know, when it comes time she would like to apply the fir full, um, permanent position. And this is to me right way, like a,

32:22 it’s like a eight month interview. Um, however, my concern is bringing anybody in, if you’re not giving them a fair shot,

32:33 what does that do to the, is that fair to, to the candidate? More importantly, is it fair to, to our students? So I do see, you know, I, I do see Megan, to your point of a bonus in, in a positive, beyond what Michelle brings to the table of just being able to calm this, give this community some time to, to calm down to the point where whoever we bring in has an opportunity for success. Because if everyone in this community, not everyone, if a group in this community has decided, no matter who comes into this role is not gonna be successful, and they make it their mission to do so, then that lack of success is harmful to our students. So I, I do see the validity of keeping, you know, a stay in place order,

33:22 if you will, with Michelle, to, to give whoever comes in a, a clean slate, because that’s just the best chance for our students. However, I, I do feel we put out to the community that we were hiring a su uh, an interim superintendent, we put out to these candidates, and I, I would feel just as strongly in six months that Dr. McGinnis would be a good fit for our community as I feel here today. However, wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t come back and apply again. Um, so I, I, I think because we said we were doing this process, the appropriate point to have this conver,

34:08 I I would’ve loved to have had this conversation with Michelle prior, and I, and I had it multiple times. Um, but I would’ve loved to have convinced her prior, not because someone else wouldn’t do a good job at this, but, but to set ‘em up for success, to have an opportunity to show us how successful they can be in that role. However, here we are, we posted, we interviewed, we told the community we were doing this. I am inclined to proceed through this. We have two strong candidates, and I think we have a way to move through. So I will ask, um, at this point in the conversation for someone to make a motion and after the, a motion is made, and if it is seconded, we will have a discussion. Excuse me.

34:54 You know, you put us in this position. I, this is not a meeting with the public. You are the one that caused the town. No, because you know what? We couldn’t hear them be you. I’m gonna ask one more time, and then after that I’ll have to ask you to leave. This is a meeting in the public, not with you. No, you haven’t let the public in, to be honest. If there is a motion that someone would like to make,

35:19 Uh, um, Sarah, I do have something to say. I think, um, to your point, just about making this kind of recommending Michelle earlier, I think, you know, I didn’t because I wasn’t sure the app, you know, the experience and skillset that was gonna come to the table. And I think, you know, looking at what Michelle offers, she offers the same level of experience. Um, you know, different skillset for sure. They all have different skill sets, and they all bring something unique to the table. Um, but Michelle’s as experienced, she’s already doing the a job, the job, she’s doing a great job. And I don’t think that we’ve actually, we’ve asked her to do the impossible right now because we’ve asked her to be a superintendent and a finance director.

36:06 And doing those two jobs and doing them well is an impossible task. So I’m gonna make the motion that we keep Michelle in the role, and that we provide the supports that she needs to be successful in that. And that includes backfilling in whatever way she thinks is necessary in the finance department, um, providing a mentor. And then I’m sure there’ll be other recommendations that Michelle would have so that she could be effective. So that’s my motion.

36:35 Are you able to boil that down? I make a motion that we keep Michelle in the position.

36:44 Is there a second? Well, for the purposes of deliberation, I’ll second the motion. Okay. Um, discussion. I was just gonna say the same thing, Jen. I, while, like I said originally, I am confident Michelle could do absolutely anything, she set her mind too. Um, this isn’t what she wants. We’re like not incorporating that into our discussion. And yes, if we begged her, she would stay. And yes, if we all voted yes, she would stay. Is that what we’re doing? N now, I, I don’t, I don’t think that, that, that’s not something that I wanna be a part of. I know what it’s like to work in a job and to be asked to do more and, you know,

37:34 moderately adequately, maybe a little bit paid enough to do the additional job for a temporary time period, right? Um, but if that’s not what you want, when you are forced, for lack of a better word, to stay doing that, or to stay doing two things, um, because who know how long, who all knows how long it would take to find adequate backup and support to fill those shoes? Um, I just, it’s not something that I, I could support knowing, having had those discussions and knowing what Michelle wants, it’s that. So I think, um, let me, I’ll jump in here. Uh, that I think there’s a little bit of a disconnect, Megan, I will say, in terms of your, um, wanting the consistency in that Yeah. Or, or, you know,

38:22 stability in that Yes, having Michelle stay on would do that, but we would have a huge, huge position to fill in some sort of either assistant business manager, business manager. I don’t know what that would look like. And that is, and we all know that is not easy to do. In fact, it just popped into my head. One of the references that I spoke with for Dr. Guinness former, uh, longtime superintendent, said that it’s actually harder to find a very high quality business manager, finance system team, uh, assistant superintendent sometimes than finding a superintendent. So I think that for purposes of stability, um, that we have an opportunity with Dr. McGinnis, frankly, to, um, to create an amazing leadership team for our, for our district moving forward.

39:10 One thing I will say too is I’m, I’m using Dr. McGinnis. ‘cause it seems like that that is the common theme here, that, that people are thinking, you know, she was really clear when she came and spoke to us that, um, and when we, when we went in, saw her in Watertown, she’s very successful in Watertown. She has, quite frankly, a, a great situation going there. Um, the only, she’s not looking to be generally superintendent anywhere. She wanted to be in Marblehead. Um, and the only reason why she applied to the interim position was she felt to have a bite at the apple of being able to come in as the permanent

39:57 superintendent. She really needed to take advantage of this job, um, opportunity. So I feel like we’re saying that is our, our candidate potentially here. If, if we had put out there that we were going to have Michelle in this position, it may have been ideal. And she may have come back later on for another round of interviews, and she may have been a finalist again.

40:26 However, you it, it’s just like, could, it would’ve, should, you know, um, this, this could’ve been ideal for everybody, but here we are. Um, I think we’re also putting Michelle in an extraordinarily unfair position right now, even having this discussion. Like just so unfair. I, I’m actually weighing right now calling a recess for five minutes. I can even have a conversation with Michelle, um, to see if, you know, I, I, I, I don’t know how to proceed through this. There is a motion on the table. Can I make a comment? Uh, of course. Thank you. I go back to, we need an academic leader at this point in time. Michelle’s great in business and operations, no question about it. But she doesn’t know learning theory. She doesn’t know all the academics and the million acronyms that come in

41:13 education now. We need somebody to step in, be able to point us in the right direction, get the queens organized, bring in the professional development, analyze the i-ready data and move us forward. And, you know, Michelle has hands full just getting the budget, everything else fixed. I don’t think she has the cycles to be able to learn what you need to learn over the next nine months. So that’s my Position. I’d like to amend the motion. Um, I’d like to amend the motion to, um, offer the position of an interim superintendent to Dr. Theresa McGinnis, subject to, um, successful negotiations with total joke. Really? You are, you are.

41:59 Um, don’t,

42:04 so I think we have to go the

42:08 Sorry, point, point of order, though. That’s like a completely different motion. So do we not have to like, vote on this motion? Because it’s a completely different motion. Yes. It’s a completely different candidate. So I think you have to vote on this one first and then you Can That’s fair. Make a different, a Different motion you could amend to Oh, we can, you could amend it in a different way. Yeah. The primary motion is to So can I, I mean, I Think why aren’t we just voting on Megan’s? And that that seems fair. I don’t, I think it’s clear or what. I mean, doesn’t, you know, It seems for, For, for the rec for the record, I didn’t just throw this out. I did, you know, have a conversation with Michelle, so it’s not like I am just like throwing this out and she’s never heard of it. So, Jess, I just want you to, I just want you to know that too. Like, I don’t want anyone to think that I would just put Michelle in this kind of

42:54 like, situation. Either I didn’t, I didn’t think that I’m gonna amend the vote, uh, to how do you, you draw a mention, I guess. Well, it wasn’t, I think you have to vote on it All. Just voting. I don’t understand. Just vote on it. Yes, please do. We’re still in deliberate. Yeah. Okay. Technically we’re in deliberation, but this No, I so unusual just because this is unusual and the subject matter sitting here. So I Please, Michelle? Yes, Yes. Um, I, I did have this conversation with Megan and, and all of, as all of you know, my career aspiration is not to be a superintendent. I am very comfortable in the business finance, operational space. Um, I really,

43:43 really appreciate the vote of confidence, um, from the committee. And, and honestly, a no vote on this is not a hard feeling whatsoever because you, you all know where I stand on this. Um, I am am honored that this discussion even came about, um, my career aspiration, whether my acting interim position ends in a month or ends nine months from now is to not continue as superintendent. Um, I do wanna go back to my role. Brian is absolutely correct. My strong point is not curriculum. I am learning it. Um, whereas your other two candidates need to learn. The other side of, of, of the superintendent position a sup, a successful superintendent has a curriculum side,

44:29 and they also have an operational budget side. So any of your candidates, including myself that are being talked about, will need to learn a piece of the job. So, and back to Allison’s comment about begging me, yes, if I am asked, I would stay on It is not my first preference. Um, I would rather have someone else in that position. But my priority to this district is to the staff and most importantly, to the students in this community. I love this community. I wanna be part of this community and I wanna do what I do really well. But right now I’m feeling really stretched, trying to manage two jobs at once. So I think that’s,

45:16 we Have to set this up. Yes. Like we have to, like, I’m literally crying. We have to stop this. We can’t do this to Michelle. Period. I’m honored. But, but thank you so much. And honestly, regardless of how it goes tonight, I am part of this district and I’m happy to be part of this district. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. There’s an opportunity for Megan to withdraw the motion. You can withdraw the motion. So chooses I withdraw it. I still think Michelle’s the best option though.

45:46 I do appreciate you withdrawing the motion. Megan. I, it felt a little like taking a vote of, i, I don’t wanna ever vote Note against Michelle. Um, uh, I would like to have this over weeks ago. Um, thank you. Is there another motion? So I’ll make a motion that we extend the offer for interim superintendent from our public schools to Dr. Theresa McInnis, subject to successful contract negotiations with the chair. Second Jen Shatner, second by Brian Oda. Discussion. I think we discuss a lot of discussion. I’ll call for a vote. Roll call. Megan Taylor. No, Allison Taylor In favor.

46:32 Brian. Oda in favor. Jen Schaffner in favor, Sarah Fox in favor. Motion carries 4, 2, 1. It is customary in these situations. Once a vote has been taken and it has been determined, the action to ask for another vote to show that although people do not necessarily vote for this, that we all will be in support of helping it this be a successful transition. So I will ask for a motion of support

47:09 for Dr. Theresa McGinnis in the role of interim superintendent through June 30th, 2024. So moved. Um, Jen Schaffner second. Seconded Brian Oda discussion. So Isn’t the will of the committee, the will of the committee? It is, but this is, so Megan, um, our consultant had told us that, and I’ve seen this done in other communities, that, that when this is a, this is different. You’re not vote. You did not, you voiced your vote to not hire her. This is to say the she will have the full support of the committee through Yeah. Court.

47:56 Of course. It’s the will of the committee. Absolutely. So I’ll ask for a roll call vote. Megan Taylor. Yeah. Yes. Alison Taylor in Favor. Brian Oda. Yes. Jen Schaffner in favor Sarah Fox. In favor. Motion carries 5 2 0 That brings us to new business. None. I will call for adjournment at five 19.