By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
LANGDON — The Fall Mountain Regional School Board said it wants to conduct a thorough and quality search for the district’s next superintendent while being mindful of the relatively short window before the next school year begins.
The Fall Mountain Regional School Board aims to meet with representatives from at least two professional search agencies within the next two weeks to select an organization to help facilitate the search for a successor to Superintendent Lori Landry, who recently announced her intent to retire.
Landry has served the last eight years as Fall Mountain’s superintendent and the last 14 years in the district as an administrator.
On Monday, the board expressed interest in meeting with two regional recruitment agencies, the New Hampshire School Board Association (NHSBA) and the New England School Development Council (NESDEC), about contracting services to assist in the search process.
“We are already about three months back [in this process],” said board Secretary Rebecca Sethi. “So we need to have boots hitting the road in about two weeks.”
Board Vice-Chair Craig Vickers asked if the board wished to forgo the use of an external agency and run an internal search, saying the latter might arguably save time as well as money, particularly if the district employs a qualified candidate already.
Several board members indicated their preference to involve experienced professionals in the process.
“[These organizations] have done this time and time again, especially in the last year, and are well versed in [the process],” said board member Alissa Bascom. “And I don’t know that any of us have had experience.”
“I agree,” said board Treasurer Joe Levesque. “This is probably the most important decision that I will make during my entire time on the board.”
Board members said they would welcome qualified district employees to apply for the position, but they want every applicant to be vetted through a formal process.
Vickers said that he and board Chair Sarah Vogel will begin gathering information and input from district employees immediately, prior to meeting with regional recruiters. Search agencies typically recommend gathering feedback from the school community, including staff and students, regarding the community’s priorities and desired qualities for an ideal candidate.
Though Landry’s last contractual day in the district is June 30, less than four months away, Landry reiterated to the school board that she will continue to assist the district in the transition beyond that date.
“I will do what I need to do to make sure I can hand off the superintendent [role] to someone else and move the district ahead,” Landry said.
The school board officially accepted Landry’s retirement request on Monday, Feb. 14, prior to Landry making a public announcement. School board members told The Eagle Times they wanted to announce Landry’s retirement sooner to expedite the start of the search process.
The Fall Mountain Regional School District currently does not have an assistant superintendent and the district’s Finance Director Jim Fenn left the district last year to take over business operations at the Windsor Central Supervisory Union in Woodstock, Vermont.
reporter @eagletimes.com
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