Groton School Board Changes Committee to Interview Next Superintendent

The Groton Board of Education on Monday refined the committee that would be involved in interviewing the next superintendent of schools.

The board decided the committee would include these people: the school board members, three teachers, two administrators, two parents, one representative of the military and one member of the central office.

The group may then be divided into two teams, which would interview the superintendent candidates separately, then come together as one to choose the finalists.

The board had earlier considered including a member of Representative Town Meeting and a member of the Town Council on the committee, but decided the group would be two unwieldy.

School Board Member Beverly Washington said the group should include stakeholders, or those who deal directly with the superintendent. She said the RTM and Town Council members could be removed to make the group smaller.

“I don’t see them really as stakeholders,” she said.

The Board also decided Monday not to put out an additional request for proposals for search firms, which would have cost money to advertise. Instead, the board plans to instead reach out today to four or five search firms in the region and see if they are interested in submitting a proposal.

The board would give the firms until Friday to submit a proposal. The school board would then discuss the potential search firms, including the five proposals it has already received, at a special meeting at 7 p.m. on April 9.

Interim Superintendent John Ramos’ contract expires June 30. Former Superintendent Paul Kadri was fired on March 5.