Harwood school board mum on superintendent choice
February 4, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti The Harwood School Board on Thursday night chose a candidate for the district’s superintendent position, but that choice will remain under wraps until negotiations are complete as outlined in the board’s selection process.
“The board made a choice and asked me to begin negotiations,” Board Chair Torrey Smith said Friday. “We’re in negotiations with that person.”
The announcement caps off a whirlwind week of interviews, meetings and deliberations aimed at selecting the next top administrator for the Harwood Unified Union School District starting on July 1 after current Superintendent Brigid Nease ends her contract on June 30.
The three finalists for the Harwood Unified Union School District superintendent position, left to right: Mike Leichliter, Zach McLaughlin, Meagan Roy.
On Thursday evening, the school board convened for the third time this week. It continued work in executive session that began on Monday for finalist interviews. Thursday’s session ended with the board reaching a consensus on the candidate to present with an offer, Smith said.
That step came in executive session and details regarding the candidate and any vote on the choice were not made public. The goal, Smith said, was for the choice to remain confidential until a contract was worked out.
Smith said that was the process the board said it would follow with the goal to appoint the board’s choice at its next regular meeting on Feb. 9. If talks with the new hire are completed sooner, she said an announcement could be made.
“We’re anticipating this will be wrapped up pretty quickly,” Smith said. “We may be able to announce [the choice] before Wednesday, maybe by Monday.”
The search and selection process began in the fall and resulted in a pool of 13 applicants that was narrowed down to three finalists who visited the district this week. The candidates were: Mike Leichliter, Superintendent of the Penn Manor School District in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Zach McLaughlin, Superintendent of the Springfield (Vt.) School District; Meagan Roy, Director of Student Support Services in Chittenden County’s Champlain Valley School District.
Left to right: Harwood senior Ava Thurston, school board member Kristen Rodgers, candidate Zach McLaughlin, Brookside co-principal Chris Neville, (out of frame is Waitsfield teacher Tommy Young) Screenshot
It was a particularly busy week for McLaughlin and Roy who also were finalists in other Vermont school districts seeking to name new superintendents to start July 1. Both participated in public forums and private school board interviews with the Washington Central Unified School District on Wednesday.
Late Wednesday evening, the Washington Central board voted unanimously to offer its position to Roy. The Times-Argus reported on Thursday that Roy then withdrew from consideration in the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union where she also was a finalist along with McLaughlin. That left Rutland Northeast’s school board to meet Thursday evening with two finalists, McLaughlin and Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll who currently is superintendent of the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union. Draft minutes posted online on Friday show that the Rutland Northeast board voted Thursday night to offer its superintendent position to McLaughlin.
Waterbury Roundabout and the Valley Reporter questioned whether the Harwood board taking action to select one candidate in executive session complied with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. Smith said she understood the matter to fall under contract negotiations but she would consult with the school district’s lawyer, Pietro Lynn. Staff at the Vermont Secretary of State’s office were unavailable Friday to discuss the matter.
Left to right: Harwood junior Arianna Clark, School board member Kristen Rodgers, candidate Mike Leichliter, Brookside Co-Principal Chris Neville, (out of frame is Waitsfield teacher Tommy Young) Screenshot
“Our intention was to follow the letter of the law,” she said. “It may turn out that our interpretation was not correct.”
The process Harwood’s board followed differed from two other school districts who interviewed candidates on the Harwood finalist list. Both the Washington Central and Rutland Northeast boards held votes in public on their choices, directing their chairs to negotiate contracts.
The flurry of interviews around the state for school district leadership positions comes as a dozen superintendent positions are in transition this year. The result is a pool where candidates in many cases have applied to multiple positions.
In Harwood’s case, however, one candidate said he has applied for only one superintendent position: Leichliter.
He has been superintendent in the Lancaster, Pa., Penn Manor district since 2009 after serving as a middle school principal and high school assistant principal. He announced his retirement in October and in his video interview with the Harwood district on Monday said he was looking for a new challenge. He noted having a daughter at the University of Vermont and that he’s been following Harwood school board meetings since the fall.
“I have been learning about your school district since September, understanding what your strengths are,” Leichliter said in his interview. He explained that he’s looking for a school system that respects student voices, respects teachers and has a strong sense of community.
“I’ve been researching schools from California to Maine,” he said. “This is the only school district where I’ve applied.”
This year the Penn Manor district will see the completion of a $100 million high school renovation and reconstruction project that Leichliter has overseen, experience that could come in handy in the Harwood district where a nearly $60 million construction bond aimed mainly at renovating and rebuilding Harwood Union High School failed in November.
“I believe you could help me be a better educator, but I believe I have some skills and some learning and perspectives from another place that may also be something I can contribute to your community as well,” Leichliter said.
The Harwood process this week involved all three finalists visiting schools, meeting principals and students, and sitting for closed-door interviews with the school board on Monday and Tuesday.
They also participated in recording video interviews where school board member Kristen Rodgers, Brookside Primary School Co-Principal Chris Neville and Waitsfield Elementary teacher Tommy Young asked questions with a different Harwood Union High School student taking part in each one.
Left to right: School board member Kristen Rodgers, candidate Meagan Roy, Brookside Co-Principal Chris Neville, Waitsfield teacher Tommy Young, (out of frame is Harwood freshman Nate Conyers) Scrrenshot
The videos were posted online with an invitation to the public to view them and offer anonymous feedback using an online form for each candidate. On Thursday morning, the videos had amassed many views: 363 for Leichliter, 342 for Roy and 296 for McLaughlin. Smith said the board received more than 100 responses from the public on each of the candidates: 120 for Leichliter, 118 for McLaughlin and 105 for Roy.
The form asked respondents whether their opinion was favorable or unfavorable for that candidate. Smith said Leichliter had the highest favorable response at just under 87%; McLaughlin had just shy of 67% and Roy’s favorable was 43%, Smith said.
The feedback was valuable, Smith said, but just part of the information board members discussed in their deliberations. “The board was grateful for that participation by the community,” she said, adding that she believed members read and reflected on the comments they received.
Of the 14 member school board, 13 of the members participated in the Harwood interviews and selection this week. The board minutes show that Waterbury member Scott Culver was absent for all three of the sessions. Warren member Jonathan Young was absent for Leichliter’s and McLaughlin’s interviews on Monday, but joined on Tuesday and Thursday.
Culver, who was appointed to the board last summer to fill a vacant position until Town Meeting Day, has been absent frequently and has not filed to run for the remaining two years on the seat he occupies. That position will be on the March 1 ballot with no contender.
Videotaped interviews with the superintendent finalists are available to view online on the HUUSD.org website under Superintendent Search.