As reported in the Citizen Herald, the School Committee has narrowed its list of candidates to be Belmont’s next Schools Superintendent to four candidates. Longtime superintendent Peter Holland retired at the end of 2008. The SC submitted a list of the candidates at their Tuesday meeting. While all the finalists seem to be solid contendors, a couple stand out (at least on paper):
Richard Hoffman, Superintendent of Schools in Ashland: Hoffman seems to have the most experience — 10 years at the helm in Ashland in addition to a stint in North Attleboro. He oversaw construction of a new High School there. For budgeting, he’s a fan of “transparency regarding what items are needed and then trim the items that are not immediately needed,” which would seem to speak to the top concern of the Belmont political establishment.
George Entwistle, who’s Super in the Falmouth, Maine public schools also seems like a contender, at least on paper, though his decision to pass up a position in Sharon to “stay in Maine” could be a red flag that his heart lies elsewhere. Belmont needs someone who’s in for the long term. Of interest with Entwistle, though, is his experience with regional consolidation in a bid to combine three different school districts, which Falmouth ultimately voted down.
With a Ph.D from BC and a Master’s from NYU, Scituate Public Schools Super James Kelleher also looks good. The BCH focused, in its write-up, on his skepticism about the MCAS testing regime in state, pulled from an interview in the Canton Journal, but offered little else in terms of his experience at the helm in Scituate or his “big vision.” Griping about MCAS certainly wouldn’t score high on my list of qualities for a new Super, but its possible that BCH was taking one quote out of a much longer piece.
What do you think the new Super’s top priorities should be?