Ten Named To Belmont Superintendent Screening Committee

In control of the town's largest group of employees and who has to oversee the spending for more than half of all town expenditures, the next Belmont School Superintendent will be one of the most influential leaders in town.

So getting the right person on the job is critical to the future of Belmont. And now the public knows who will be making that decision.

A ten-member screening committee has been appointed by the Belmont School Committee to review applications and recommend finalist candidates for superintendent of the Belmont Public Schools who will start on July 1, 2014. 

Screening Committee members include: 

• Laurie Graham, parent and School Committee Chair;
• Anne Lougée, parent and School Committee Secretary;
• Lisa Fiore, parent, School Committee member;
• Ralph Jones, Vice Chair, Board of Selectman, former Belmont School Committee Chair
• Michael Libenson, parent and Warrant Committee Chair;
• John Sullivan, President of the Belmont Education Association, Belmont High School teacher;
• Janet Carey, Principal, Winn Brook Elementary School;
• Jamie Shea, parent and president Foundation for Belmont Education;
• Jane Feinberg-Kaplan, parent, founding member of Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative; and
• Mary Jo Peterman, parent and co-chair Belmont Special Education Advisory Council.

The Screening Committee will meet shortly after the Oct. 15 application deadline to begin reviewing applications and conducting initial interviews. 

The Screening Committee will provide finalist recommendations to the School Committee before the Thanksgiving recess. Finalists will then meet with students, families, staff and residents.  

The School Committee hopes to make its final decision and vote for appointment by late December 2013.

“The School Committee is pleased and incredibly gratified that we have been able to gather together such an experienced, diverse, and accomplished group of citizen volunteers to help us choose the next leader for the Belmont Public Schools," said Graham.

"We appreciate the support we receive from the community in ensuring that we continue to provide the best educational experience to all our students. The Superintendent, as the district’s Chief Executive Office, has a crucial role in achieving this goal," she said.

Dr. Thomas Kingston has been the Interim Superintendent since July 2011.

The School Committee will be posting ongoing information regarding the time-lime for the search. As well, it will publish documents regarding the rubric the Screening Committee and the School Committee will be using to evaluate candidates.  See:  http://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/Administration/SuperintendentSearch.aspx

Any costs incurred during the review and selection process will be absorbed by the 2013 School Committee line-item budget and not impact students or staff in any way.

The Screening Committee and the School Committee will be supported in its efforts by Mary Pederson, Belmont School Department Human Resources Manager, and will receive technical support from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.