Stanton Chosen As Granby Superintendent

The assistant superintendent of Southbridge Public Schools, Sheryl Stanton, has been tapped to be the new Granby superintendent.

The school board here had offered the position to Agawam High School principal Steven Lemanski last month on a 4-1 vote, and he had accepted, pending agreement on a contract. The other vote went to Stanton.

The district this week announced the parties did not come to a settlement, and consequently offered the position to Stanton.

"The Granby School Committee announced at their meeting on Jan. 21, 2016 that (it was) unable to come to an agreement with Steven Lemanski regarding a contract as the next superintendent of the Granby Public Schools," the board said in a prepared statement released Friday morning.

Stanton Is Superintendent Candidate In Granby

Southbridge’s Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Sheryl Stanton, is a finalist for the Superintendent’s position in Granby.

The three finalists for the permanent Superintendent position will be visiting Granby next week. They will meet with staff and tour the schools during the day. There is an opportunity for any member of the community to come and meet them at an open reception, which will be followed by a School Committee meeting during which the final interview will take place. The public is also welcome to attend the School Committee interviews, as they will be done in Open Session. Both events will take place in the Media Center at Granby Jr.-Sr. High School. 

Reaction To School Committee Vote On Restructure Plan

Pim Stewart

Superintendent Releases Restructure Proposal

Ken O’Brien

 

The Southbridge Superintendent of Schools, Sheryl Stanton, today released a report on the planned restructuring of the Southbridge Middle/High School. 

The report runs 88 pages.

It can be found by clicking on this link: Southbridge Middle/High School Restructure Proposal

Why’d They Diss Bliss?

Ken O’Brien

Allow me to return for a moment to the issue of the recent action by the majority of the School Committee to extend the contract of Sheryl Stanton for another year.

At the time of the vote the Committee had an application in hand from Steven Bliss who had recently announced his departure from the position of Superintendent of the Dover-Sherborn school district.

Committee Vice-Chair Kara Donovan referred to any consideration of Mr. Bliss as changing the process for a person. Committee Chair Lauren McLouhglin stated that she believed Bliss had submitted his letter based upon inside information, which she found very concerning. 

The Hypocrites’ Ball

Ken O’Brien

After slow-walking the superintendent search process the hit-and-run Chair of the School Committee and her sycophants decided that the Acting Superintendent’s contract should be extended and the selection of a permanent superintendent should be left to the incoming committee.

In a related matter, immediately following her contract extension, the newest one-year wonder presented a plan to reorganize the middle/high school. The (supposedly) carefully-crafted, extensively vetted plan had no associated job descriptions and no budgetary impact associated with it. 

Spending Our Way Out Of Level IV

Ken O’Brien

Today’s Worcester Telegram contains an articles by Brian Lee titled “Southbridge schools seek big budget hike”.

In that article Acting Superintendent of Schools Sheryl Stanton makes the observation, “Southbridge is a Level 4 underperforming district with 2,262 students. It projects an enrollment increase of 88 students in 2015-16, Ms. Stanton said.

Its per-pupil spending is $13,366. But similar districts that are working to shed their underperforming status, such as Salem, Holyoke and Randolph, spend $14,873, $16,151 and $15,587, respectively.”

She doesn’t mention other school districts that are also Level IV such as Athol-Royalston, Fall River and New Bedford that spend $13,378, !3,534 and $12,802 per pupil respectively.

Stanton Appointed Superintendent

Ken O'Brien

Updated: Just a note for those who might have missed it. During last night's meeting of the Southbridge School Committee, items VIII and IX were moved on the agenda. They were taken up after the Executive Session. When the committee returned to the dais the item labelled " Superintendent of Schools Update/Discussion" became a motion by Erin Quinney to appoint Sheryl Stanton as Acting Superintendent of Schools through June 30, 2015, pending contract negotiations. The vote was 6 to 1 in favor with the sole negative vote being cast by School Committee member Dr. Raymond Page.