Having formally interviewed the three finalists to replace Doug White as superintendent of schools, the ORR District School Committee, Superintendency Union No. 55 and the Tri-Town school committees are facing a decision that may come down to which kind of experience they most trust to lead the next generation of Tri-Town students: the most or the most direct.
That decision will be made in a meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 pm in the media room at Old Rochester Junior High School.
On February 29 at the same location, the three finalists for superintendent of schools, Gary Reese, Michael Nelson, and Michelle Roy, were interviewed in succession for approximately 90 minutes each.
The ORR School Committee presided with delegates and participants representing Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester.
Each candidate opened with an introductory statement, then fielded a lengthy list of prepared and later unprepared questions, many of which were repeated in some form for each candidate. Then each candidate was given the opportunity to ask questions of the committees and, finally, make closing remarks.
Of critical importance based on a survey of residents was the criteria of experience communicating, preparing, reviewing and presenting budgets.
None of the three finalists has gone through an entire budget process from start to finish as a superintendent or in a single school district, but all three pointed to experiences in related parts and/or roles that they consider applicable.
While serving as assistant superintendent in Amesbury, Reese faced staffing losses necessitating that he act as the director of special education, then when the school lost its business manager, he served in that capacity at the start of the budget process.
“It was stressful,” he said, “but it was helpful because I delved into the budget in a way I wouldn’t have.”
As Westport’s assistant superintendent, Reese said had success negotiating with teaching assistants, cafeteria, custodial and office staff to annualize to 26 rather than “21 or 22” pay periods. In addition to his last five years in a major role identifying curriculum, he said that Amesbury had been outsourcing the transportation of a group of students and by getting the school its own van saved $170,000.
As assistant superintendent at ORR the past six years, Nelson has overseen the special education budgets. “In six years, I have not had to go back to the town and ask for additional funds,” he said. In Walpole Public Schools, Nelson said he managed and oversaw the special-education budget to make sure the superintendent there understood for his budget at large.
Roy negotiated in five of her six years at Dartmouth, working with teachers, teachers’ assistants, nurses and other staff. She noted that she had not previously seen the high school schedule being subject to the teachers’ contract.
She described her participation at Dartmouth beginning with a team approach to the budget including the five-member school committee and school principals. The essential-office team, as she called it, coded each item green, yellow and red, tried to meet somewhere in the middle and then formulated a presentation to the school committee and finance committee.
“We look at if there are any efficiencies that we can combine,” she explained, noting a recent opportunity to make two retirements into one staff replacement.
Asked how he saw his relationship to the school committee, Reese answered, “I’m a member of the team, but I’m also team captain.”
Nelson said he wants to extend his relationship with members of the school committees beyond budget meetings to build trust.
Roy said her math background influences her to work from the outside in, understand all the roles and then delve into the middle.
Hypothetical questions were posed, one of them asking the finalists what would be first item cut in a $200,000 budget shortfall.
Reese said he would sit down with the administration team and discuss potential areas of savings, alluding to a four-year study done leading to a discovery at Westport that resulted in cutting the heating and electricity budgets.
Nelson said he would tighten the belt around supplies and look for entitlement grants that could shift parts of the budget. “I would not want to try to impact the rate of services, rather the content areas,” he said.
Roy was asked what she would do with a $200,000 surplus, saying she would investigate the needs and alluded to a recent situation in which Dartmouth was able to open up its therapeutic program involving trauma aid, transitioning the grade spans to make it work. She also spoke about upgrading technology in the classroom.
The process was lengthy but provided an opportunity for the committees to get to know each finalist as well as banter over some complex questions.
Reese said knowing that social and emotional well-being as “an area of focus for ORR” attracted him to the school. Reese said that Westport’s “beliefs” did not match his own, adding the ORR’s beliefs focus on social/emotional learning and the impact that can have on a student’s academic performance.
He also alluded to an incident during his visit to ORR in which a student-athlete was wearing headphones and a faculty member addressed the misstep with tact, something he wished he saw more of in other places he had worked.
For the past two years, Reese has been the superintendent of Westport Community Schools, and during his 25 years in education has in addition to Amesbury also held administration positions in Millbury and Woburn. Woburn has 14 schools.
All three finalists for the superintendent’s job are in the process of completing work toward a doctoral degree.
Given several job changes in recent years, Reese’s main challenge is convincing the committee that he is in it for the long haul. He said he moved to southeastern Massachusetts for personal reasons, and that rendered Amesbury too long a commute to keep a job that he enjoyed. He stopped short of saying he would want to live in the Tri-Town area, citing the value of a commute for decompressing from a long day’s or week’s work.
“I’m looking for a place to call home, finish out my career,” he said, stressing the importance of making himself visible and accessible especially during the first school year on the job.
Nelson sees his greatest challenge in delegating. He also must convince the district that his experience as an assistant superintendent at ORR is enough for position repeatedly referred to in questions as one suited for the experienced.
Nelson articulated respect and praise for outgoing superintendent Doug White but made a point of he will try to make the office more responsive “in real time”. “We have very different leadership style,” said Nelson.
To bridge his unique gap having held a role in the school system the past six years to becoming the superintendent of schools, Nelson said, “Whether it’s a new district or not, I need to reintroduce myself. Some people know exactly what I do and for some it’s ambiguous. I would need to design an entry plan.”
Nelson plans to make himself visible and approachable by attending extracurricular activities, including sporting events where people have a comfort zone away the trappings of the school building.
Nearing the end of his sixth year in the ORR district after serving as Walpole district-wide coordinator of special education, the Plymouth resident initially thought the invitation to apply for the superintendent position was out of courtesy until he evaluated his experience and realized he considers himself an excellent candidate.
Roy entered Dartmouth amidst an upheaval of administrative staff and contentious relationship with the union. The school system has lost its superintendent, assistant superintendent, and Roy was hired by the interim superintendent. Her immediate tasks were to build the culture, work with the team and regain the trust.
Today she considers herself happy at her job, and her interest in coming back to ORR is based on a rare opportunity to complete her career circle.
Roy’s self-admitted challenge is in getting out of her social comfort zone. An adept presenter in large gatherings, she said it was challenging for her in a less formal setting.
A Rochester resident with local education history – from 1985 to 2005 she was director of personal instruction for grades K-12 at ORR – Roy has a math background and is currently assistant superintendent of Dartmouth Public Schools.
“I’m a Rhode Island girl and, if you know anything about Rhode Island, we don’t usually leave the state,” said Roy, who had intended to raise her family closer to home but fell in love with the Tri-Town region right out of college. “In the time I left, my skillset has grown. I would love to come back and finish my career where I started.”
By Mick Colageo
CORRECTION
Gary Reese has been a school superintendent for the past five years, having preceded his current two years as superintendent of Westport Community Schools with three years as superintendent in Amesbury. He also reported comprehensive experience to the ORR school committee in his February 29 interview, summarizing and highlighting that experience in answer to a question posed by Sharon Hartley of the Rochester Memorial School Committee based on an online survey in which responders were clear in the importance of ORR’s next superintendent demonstrating financial knowledge and significant experience with the budget process from preparation to presentation for support from school committees, boards of selectmen, finance directors, finance committees, and to citizens at town meetings. “Yes, I meet that criteria,” answered Reese, who elaborated by sharing examples of relevant experience from the past 10 years. “Obviously, my past five years as superintendent, that’s been my major role,” he said.