From the School Committee

March 2008

Superintendent Search: In January, the School Committees announced the pending retirement of Dr. Brenda Finn, Superintendent of the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Regional School Systems. The School Committees have announced their intentions to conduct a search to fill this critical position over the next several months. The position will first be posted internally; should a strong and seasoned candidate emerge from within the ranks of the existing employee pool, it is possible we will complete the process in late winter/early spring. Should that not prove the case, the School Committees intend to select an interim superintendent to lead the schools during the 2008/2009 academic year, while it conducts a broader search.

Beginning at the School Committee meeting on January 26, the School Committee will be soliciting input from an array of persons who share our interest in excellent public education in Concord and Concord-Carlisle. The School Committee has scheduled time on its February 26 meeting for community input on the topic of the superintendent search from 7:30 to 9:00. This meeting will be held at the Ripley building conference room. In addition, we have scheduled two forums – one for parent input on Monday March 3 at 7:00 and one for broader community input on Wednesday March 5 at 7:00. Both of these forums will be held at the Thoreau School Auditorium.

The input of all stakeholders in our school systems is essential as we move toward creating the list of essential skills and experience a successful candidate needs to possess in order to be successful in the role of superintendent. We invite and encourage your participation in these forums. Beyond these forums, the school committee will meet with many other stakeholders in the systems – faculty, union representatives, elected officials, students, members of the finance committees, and concerned citizens.

High School Fields: Construction of the new fields at CCHS is moving ahead well. We anticipate students and town leagues being able to use the fields during the late spring.

Budget Preparations: The winter into spring months mark the time of year the Town proposes and approves budgets for the subsequent fiscal year. The school administration has prepared initial budget recommendations for the 2008-2009 school year during the autumn, and reviewed these with the Concord and Carlisle Finance Committees as well as the School Committees. The towns’ Finance Committees will hold hearings on the budget proposals later in February or March. Later in the spring, at Town meetings in April and May, our towns will evaluate budget recommendations and vote support. We do not anticipate the need for a budget override in Concord for operations for either the K – 8 or the 9 – 12 systems; at the time of this writing, we cannot say with certainty how large an override will be necessary in Carlisle for the 9 – 12 system, though it is likely such an override will be necessary.

News from the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Funding Issues: At the time of this writing, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has indicated plans to schedule meetings with school districts where projects were placed on its “Hold” list. This would include the Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. The School Committee is anxious to keep this project moving forward from the work completed in 2005, and anticipates that further information from MSBA is the first necessary step in determining how the Towns of Concord and Carlisle should proceed with this significant and essential capital project.

As previously reported, members of the school administration and Committee, together with Concord Town officials, met with MSBA staff in January to initiate the discussions of the specific amount of reimbursement the state will provide to the Town on the Thoreau School project. The town will submit the requested information to MSBA in February; the district anticipates MSBA will review all materials, conclude its analysis, and reimburse the town for some portion of the Thoreau School construction by early in the 2009 fiscal year. We are very hopeful this process will move ahead smoothly and are grateful to the town for all the support provided to secure reimbursement funds.

Submitted by:
Jan McGinn, for the School Committees