08/29/2007 SELECT BOARD Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Selection of School Committee Candidate To Replace Ms. Rebecca Romkey The School Committee solicited candidates to fill a committee seat vacated by Rebecca Romkey in May of 2007. Three candidates submitted letters of interest. On Wednesday,August 22 the candidates were given time to introduce themselves to the School Committee. Also in attendance, and participating in the interview process, was Ms. Terrie Cook, Chair of the Board of Selectman of the Town of Mashpee, and liaison to the School Committee. The committee members asked the following questions: (1)can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your background; (2)will you tell us why you are interested in serving on the School Committee; (3)please describe any specific issues or concerns you have that you believe the School Committee should address in the weeks and months ahead; (4)can you tell us how you would balance your various roles as community member,parent, and potentially a School Committee member; (5) are you interested in serving in an interim capacity to fill the un-expired term of Ms. Romkey,or are you planning to run for a full term in May of 2008 once the interim position ends? The three candidates and the order in which they appeared before the School Committee were:Ms. Kathy Stanley, Mr. Peter Cohen, and Ms. Kathy Lynch. After listening to the candidates,the School Committee met in Executive Session to discuss what they had heard and to review the relative strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. Several issues were raised by the candidates in their brief presentations that are important to the committee. These included concerns about: budget tensions and the budgeting process generally; special education services;teacher vacancies needing to be filled; and relationships between the committee and other entities, such as the town government,the Board of Selectman,and others agencies and bodies such as the Finance Committee. Following a 30-minute debriefing, the committee voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that it endorses and appoint Ms.Kathy Stanley to this committee. The School Committee offers the following rationale for this recommendation: 1. Ms. Stanley clearly articulated several issues of concern that resonate with the members of the current School Committee, among them being: (1)a strong desire to continue curriculum changes currently underway; (2) a deep concern about MCAS results and a desire to see the district improve its performance at all levels; (3)a concern about disruptive behavior in the class and its negative impact on student performance; (4)a concern about pending teacher retirements; (5)a desire to help the district improve its services to students with special needs, including further study of summer programs for Special Education students. 2. Ms. Stanley has children in the school system. The committee believes this fact to be particularly relevant since none of the current members of the School Committee have children attending Mashpee schools. 3. Ms. Stanley is a committed volunteer in our schools and sees her role on the School Committee as a natural progression of the work she has been doing. The list of recommendations she provided to support her candidacy is very impressive. In year 2006-2007 she was chosen as Quashnet School"Volunteer of the Year."Ms. Stanley has served both the Coombes and Quashnet schools on their PTO's, and this past year was President of the Quashnet PTO. She is a member of the Mashpee Education Foundation. Additionally,Ms. Stanley is a small business owner and will bring to the committee additional financial and business acumen. 4. Finally,Ms. Stanley intends to serve out the current un-expired term of Ms. Rebecca Romkey and to stand for election in May of 2008 for one of the seats that will then be available. This is particularly important to the committee since two of its current members are new this year, and two will be coming off the committee in May of 2008, unless they choose to run for a new term, and are re-elected. Continuity is important to the School Committee and Ms. Stanley has an opportunity to be an important member of the committee moving in to 2008