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.

Southbridge Superintendent Candidate Interviews

Telegram Reports On Superintendent Candidate Interviews

Writing in the Worcester Telegram, Brian Lee reported on Wednesday’s interviews of candidates by the Southbridge School Committee.

Sheryl Stanton, Southbridge's assistant superintendent; Richard D’Agostino, a retired Warwick, Rhode Island, superintendent; and Amy McKinstry, Northbridge director of curriculum, were interviewed by committee members Scott Lazo, Dr. Raymond Page, Jill Congdon, William Bishop and Amelia Peloquin.

Why The Delay?

Mitchell Chester

The DESE will hold a public hearing on whether or not the public school district in Southbridge will be taken over by the state. It will hold that meeting next Monday starting at 4:30 in the auditorium at the old high school.

The following day the Board of Directors of the DESE will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting at Roxbury Community College. On the agenda is a discussion  of the Southbridge case. However, Commissioner Chester has indicated that he does not expect a vote to be held until the Board’s next regularly scheduled meeting on February 23^rd. 

What’s The Point?

Shortly after the DESE Commissioner announced his recommendation that the Southbridge School District be placed in receivership the Southbridge School Committee's agenda to interview candidates for Superintendent appeared on the town's website.

One has to ask in all earnestness, what’s the point?

On January 12^th the Worcester Telegram reported that George P. King Jr., the assistant superintendent of the Bolton-based Nashoba Regional School District, withdrew his candidacy for superintendent. 

Superintendent Search Committee Names Finalists

Brian Lee reports in the Worcester Telegram that Richard D’Agostino, a retired Warwick, Rhode Island, superintendent; George P. King Jr., the assistant superintendent of Bolton-based Nashoba Regional School District; Amy McKinstry, Northbridge director of curriculum; and Sheryl Stanton, Southbridge assistant superintendent, were announced as finalists for the position of Southbridge's Superintendent of Schools.

Also Thursday, the search committee issued a letter to state Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester explaining why it went against his recommendation to delay the search.

The commissioner is considering recommending that the Level 4 underperforming district be declared Level 5 and chronically underperforming. It would trigger the appointment of a receiver who would have the authority of superintendent and School Committee.

DESE Commissioner: “No comment” On Southbridge School Committee Action

Mitchell Chester

Ken O'Brien

On December 28 the Southbridge School Committee held an emergency special meeting to discuss a letter from DESE Commissioner Mitchell Chester. In his letter the Commissioner advised that the committee suspend its search for a permanent Superintendent pending the Board of Education’s decision on receivership for the district.

After emerging from executive session, the committee voted five to zero to continue its search.

The following day I contacted the Commissioner’s office to determine if he had any response to that action 

Herding Cats

On December 15^th the Board of Directors of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education met in Malden. On their agenda was the issue of the continuing underperformance of the Southbridge school system.

The Worcester Telegram reported, “Deeply troubled about the state of Southbridge public schools, Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester said a recommendation to place the district in Level 5 receivership is not off the table.” 

Emergency School Committee Meeting - December 28, 2015

Southbridge School Committee

Emergency Special Meeting

MacKinnon Council Chambers

December 28, 2015

7 PM

The O'Zone reports that the letter from DESE Commissioner Chester advises the School Committee to suspend the Superintendent search until the receivership issue is resolved.

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. 

Troubling Questions About Bliss Departure

Ken O’Brien

Like so many things in Southbridge, recent events in the school system have brought out the usual trolls.

 Rancid comments from those who have, and will apparently never stop having, a stake in sanitizing past failures fill the prior article announcing the Superintendent’s resignation.

But there are confusing issues raised by the recent departure of Superintendent of Schools Steven Bliss. In fact, a careful consideration of the available information raises more questions than it provides answers.

Let us start with the premise that Mr. Bliss had decided that he wished to leave his position for whatever reason.

Southbridge Superintendent Resigns

Southbridge School Superintendent Steven Bliss resigned his position last night.

Mr. Bliss cited health reaons as well as concerns that the post was not the right fit for him.

Reporting on the departure of Superintendent Bliss, The Worcester Telegram noted:

Mr. Bliss, in an email to the Telegram & Gazette, said that in addition to the health matter, he also found that the job was not the right fit for him.

Mr. Bliss said he had not completed contract negotiations with the School Committee as of a couple weeks ago.

After a couple of medical issues spanning the past two weeks and, “much soul searching, I decided that the work of the Superintendent is simply not a good fit for me in that the work for the most part had little to do with teaching and learning and causes one to be further removed from working with students and teachers in a meaningful way,” he said.

“I have decided to pursue other professional opportunities in the field of education, be it in the form of educational consulting work or in a private school setting,” Mr. Bliss said.

No Approval For Sup'ts Contract; Southbridge Teacher Arrested On Child Porn Charges

BREAKING NEWS: Last night the School Committee met with an Executive Session on the agenda, followed by a return to open session to vote on the Superintendent's contract. Following the Executive Session the meeting reconvened and voted to adjourn. As a result, as of tomorrow, July 1, there are no contracts in effect for either the Superintendent or the Assistant Superintendent.




MORE BREAKING NEWS (12:07 PM): A Worcester man who works in the Southbridge school system will face federal child pornography charges after his arrest by FBI agents Tuesday.

Scott Peeler was arrested at his home at 28 Trinity Ave. in Worcester on Tuesday, the FBI confirmed.

Peeler faces charges of attempted production of child pornography; attempted receipt of child pornography; attempted coercion and enticement of a minor; and attempted possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Peeler will be arraigned in Worcester Federal Court on Tuesday.

Southbridge Public Schools confirmed that Peeler works for the schools. Peeler also works part-time in a non-patient care position at Adcare, a drug and alcohol rehab facility, the company confirmed.

The district's website lists him as a middle school faculty member.

Witnesses said they saw investigators carrying computer drives, bags, totes and videotapes out of the home.

School Committee Fails To Approve Superintendent’s Contract

Ken O’Brien

Last night the existing School Committee met, presumably for the last time, prior to next Tuesday’s town election.

Following a predictably tearful farewell from the current Chair following a period of turmoil and failure unseen in recent memory, the Committee went into Executive Session.

According to the agenda for the meeting the Committee was to reconvene to vote on four items.

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. 

Well, That’s Settled

Ken O’Brien

Amid all the non-answers and new ways of repeating what we’ve been told for at least ten years, Tuesday’s meeting of the Southbridge School Committee confirmed another suspicion.

The suspicion was that, for the third time in a row, Southbridge has committed itself to a Superintendent without any plan to engage in a search for a suitably qualified candidate to fill that role.

Further illustrating his unmatched gift for the pithy everyman summation Committee member Abrahamson compared the current state of affairs to having no need to continue searching once one had found their car keys. His remarks were made with the imprimatur of the state officials present and the blessing of the Committee Chairman.

Thus, with these endorsements providing a ringing backdrop, Southbridge once again plunges these well-tested keys into the ignition for yet another drive into an assured rosy tomorrow.

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.

Moving Forward

Ken O’Brien

Southbridge now has its fifth Superintendent of Schools in just over two years.

Ely, Wiggins, Nembirkow, Gardner and now Stanton.

Eric Ely was the last chosen by anything approaching a community-based process. Even in that case, however, the process was compromised.

All four have departed under clouds of varying density and magnitude.

According to today’s Worcester Telegram Mrs. Stanton has been named “acting superintendent”. (Question to the chairman, “Is that a legal title?”) 

Breaking News: Gardner Resigns

Sources tell the O'Zone that Southbridge Superintendent of Schools Patricia Gardner resigned her position on Monday.

Sheryl Stanton, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning, has been named to fill the post for the time being.

In a joint statement, the committee and Ms. Gardner cited "philosophical differences on how the School District should move forward" as the reason for ending their working relationship.