DUMMERSTON — In a letter to the Reformer on Oct 21, Rus Janis, chairman of the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union finance committee, and Amy Wall, chairwoman of the WSESU board, indicated that the search committee worked with the central office administration to prepare for a search for a new superintendent of schools.
According to the letter, they posted the position internally in September. Only one person applied and was interviewed.
Here we are, not even at the end of October, and apparently a decision has been made to recommend that person to the full board, which will most likely rubber-stamp the recommendation of the search committee.
This process has all of the nuances of a predetermined outcome.
If the Boys and Girls Club board members took six months and dealt with numerous applicants prior to selecting their new executive director and the town of Brattleboro did a national search before choosing a town manager, should not the same type of exhaustive search be performed prior to appointing the leader in charge of our district's educational institutions?
Everything that has happened might, in fact, be legal and in accordance with state and labor laws, but it is certainly not in the spirit of the thoroughness and transparency that such an important position requires.
The process is certainly not working well.