MANCHESTER — Superintendent Marcia O'Neil joined the Manchester Essex Regional School District when the first shovel broke ground for the new school building.
Now, with the school open and the project nearing its fine-tuned completion, so does O'Neil's time with the district. And as her June 30 retirement date nears, the School Committee expects to end its five-month search for a new superintendent Tuesday night.
O'Neil announced her decision to retire and submitted her resignation before the school year began at the end of her three-year contract. In retirement, O'Neil will take a part-time job as a regional assistant director for the state's Department of Education.
"I'm proud of the work that's been done here," she said.
The School Committee's search to find her successor, however, has not been as smooth.
The committee began its search for a new superintendent in January, and hoped to fill the position by April.
A search committee of three School Committee members, five community voices, four teachers and two school administrators conducted the search. They received 25 applicants from across the state and nation, and narrowed candidates to three finalists: Marc Kerble, former Winchester superintendent; Thomas Gwin, Winchester High School principal; and Michael Cozort, superintendent of the Shaker Regional School District in New Hampshire.
Kerble accepted a job as the superintendent for Newburyport schools the night before before the committee began conducting interviews. And the committee decided not to name either Gwin or Cozort because, according to School Committee Chairwoman Susan Coviello, the panel believed it did not have a large enough finalist pool, and decided to start a new search, with a new search committee.
"The first committee did its job and a good job," said Coviello. "The School Committee decided for new faces and new voices."
Coviello and the committee also contacted Mike Gilbert from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees who proposed the second committee and reduced its size to eight members.
The second committee received applications from candidates from New Hampshire to Texas — and again Cozort was in the running. Before the new search committee could decide on finalists, Cozort took a job with the Nantucket school district.
Last week, however, the School Committee finished a series of interviews with three finalists, whose districts the committee visited in early May.
They are:
Pamela Beaudoin, North Reading school district's curriculum and technology director.
Dr. Bonny Gifford, Fairhaven Middle School's principal and Fairhaven's Woman of the Year for 2009.
Joan Landers, superintendent of Wakefield Public Schools.
And Tuesday night, one of them is expected to get the nod to become the Manchester Essex Regional School District's new leader — with a goal of coming on board July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
The committee will choose its new superintendent during its 7:30 p.m. meeting, with deliberations open to the public, Coviello said.
"We're going to discuss the qualities of the finalists," she noted, "and vote on a single one."
Steven Fletcher can be reached at 978-283-7000 x3447, or gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.
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