From the Superintendent Blog

 

From the blog of superintendent Brian Salzer:

 

The three major projects I am working on this week are: the preparation for the interview process for a new Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, our second search process for the Bridge Street Principal, and the continual development of a balanced FY13 budget.

The transition out of Nicole Markel and the transition in of a new Executive Assistant is clearly on my mind and near and dear to my heart.  The future of the office organization and effectiveness depends on a careful selection and intense training.  It will be very important to many of us in the system that we find a talented and successful candidate to fill the big shoes left behind by Nicole.  She will be greatly missed.

We are also in the process of communicating the dates and times for the interview process of the next round of principal candidates.  It appears that the entire first round search committee will return and it is my hope our finalist visit days will be as well as attended as last time.  We will be making some adjustments to the schedule to accommodate more people, but realize we will not be able to create a schedule of visits that will be convenient to all who are interested in meeting the candidates.  I have had a brief look at some of the new resumes and I am very pleased with the quality of the applicants.

In budget news, conversations remain bleak as we finalize cuts to positions, materials, and services for next year from an already lean budget.  None of this is easy because any of the cuts equal something we cannot afford to lose; however, we continue to look for additional savings we can realize through projections and reviews of our current spending.  I remain hopeful our final cuts will not need to be as severe as they currently appear.

On Wednesday, we engaged the community in our second forum to discuss proposals for a later high school start time.  Approximately 50 people came to listen to, and/or discuss, the options for the later high school start time. Participants were informed, polite, passionate, inquisitive, and willing to engage in open dialogue.  We will have two more forums: one on July 10th at JFK and one in August prior to the September School Committee presentation to discuss the final decision.

Thursday morning was a beautiful day for our 40th Annual Special Olympics event at the high school.  Athletes and coaches were all wearing smiles and loving the athletic challenges of the day.