Former Interim Superintendent Matthew Malone at a School Committee meeting held to discuss and vote on the school budget last week.
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — The School Committee will appoint an acting superintendent at a special meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
The committee is working towards filling the position after former interim superintendent Matthew Malone announced his resignation Friday afternoon.
Malone was chosen as interim superintendent October 2015, following the resignation of former superintendent Michael Tempesta.
Malone is also the ex-superintendent of Swampscott and Brockton Public Schools.
In addition to his superintendent stints, he was the Secretary of Education from 2013-15, during Gov. Deval Patrick’s second term. He ran the Swampscott School Department from 2005-2009, before moving on to Brockton.
Though he was only with the town for four short months, Malone made an impression with his animated nature, spirited socks, and most recently, his enthusiastic display at a school budget meeting, during which he sat with children, fist-bumped parents, and eagerly made suggestions to the board.
Dozens of parents, teachers, and concerned residents attended the meeting after Malone proposed a revised recommended budget with cost containments, including the closure of the Waybright Elementary School and the Ballard Early Childhood Center and moving fifth-graders into the Belmonte Middle School.
At a meeting Wednesday night, the committee voted 4 to 0 to choose an internal option and accept applications for the position only from those who are qualified within the school district.
“I would like to see us go internally,” said committee member Elizabeth Marchese. “I believe that we have had too much upheaval right now. We need some familiarity.
It’s been a rocky start, to say the least, and I think we need some peace here in our district,” Marchese said.
“A person on inside knows our system, knows how we run (things), and would have some knowledge of where we stand with the MSBA,” said committee member Linda Gaieski. “I think going with someone from within the system would be our best (option).”
The board also voted 3 to 1 that whoever is chosen as the acting superintendent will not be an eligible candidate for the permanent superintendent position.
“It’s a double edged sword,” said vice-chairman Peter Manoogian, who served as acting chairman in the absence of Jeannie Meredith.
“It is not uncommon to have a restriction that if you are the acting or the interim that you would not be able to apply for the permanent position,” he said.
Giving the acting superintendent the opportunity to apply for the permanent position could deter external candidates from applying for the job, he said.
“That process would be better served by any candidate knowing that the position is truly open and someone doesn’t have a leg up,” Manoogian said.
Committee member Arthur Grabowski said he was concerned with taking the most qualified person, internally, for the position for only four months and then taking him or her out of the running for the permanent position.
“We’re literally asking somebody to step forward who has knowledge of the district and knowledge of what’s been happening in the district,” Grabowski said. “I don’t want any more musical chairs.”
We need to choose “the best person for the job at the time and let the chips fall,” he said.
“I agree with the fact that our acting superintendent will not be a candidate for the permanent position,” Marchese said. “(We don’t want to give the) appearance of trying to slide someone into a position.
“I also do not want to discourage any qualified, interested applicants from outside the district,” she said. “I would hate to see anything impede the process. Hopefully we will be getting a lot of applications in March.”
The acting superintendent will serve only until July 1, when the permanent superintendent takes over, Manoogian said.
“There has been a tremendous interest (in the position), I’m told,” he said.
The committee decided Pola Andrews, executive director of finance and administration, would remain the point person for superintendent decisions until an acting superintendent is chosen.
“She did a wonderful job on the snow day,” Manoogian said.
The committee will also ask staff for comments and feedback, he said.Manoogian said the committee would send an email to all staff stating the committee is asking for all candidates to come forward. He said staff will also be made aware that, if chosen for the position, they will not be eligible for the permanent position.
Responses will be due by Monday at 5 p.m., when Manoogian will distribute the applications to the other members of the School Committee.
“We will have a couple of days to consider those (applications),” he said.
The special meeting scheduled for Friday was canceled. Instead, the committee will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on twitter @BridgetTurcotte.