After a surprising mid-year announcement by Superintendent Martin, she has left the Scituate Public Schools District and the search for a new Superintendent of schools will be beginning.  For the rest of the year Interim Superintendent Doctor James Kelleher will act as the Superintendent of Schools.

Dr. Kelleher said that the transition has been smooth since Martin’s last day on December 31st, despite being a midyear decision. “Dr. Martin is retired but available,” he said. If questions arise and she needs to be asked, she is willing to help the transitioning staff.

According to the Scituate Mariner and Martin the new superintendent will face challenges like school building projects, budgeting and finances, teacher and administration contracting, and the new accountability plan.

Dr. Kelleher included that updating technology throughout the school systems will be a challenge for whomever takes the position next year. With the recent news of Principal Nuzzo’s retirement, he recognizes the difficulty of replacing two huge positions within the same year.

The search does not actually start until March or April. New England School Development Council (NESDEC) is the company Scituate will use to survey the townspeople in order to figure out certain characteristics that they are looking for in both a superintendent and a principal. These include options like instate or out of state as well as if they desire someone familiar with the Scituate School System or not.

Dr. Kelleher emphasized the importance of hearing what the people have to say. “It’s a large community and  takes time to get people’s input,” he said. A group of citizens will form a panel to help narrow down the suggested characteristics from the town. A student panel may also be created to get the voice of the younger community.

After NESDEC searches for the best qualities the search process will begin. The hiring committee judges the applicants based on who best fits the characteristics predetermined by the surveyed community. The decision should be done by this coming April. The same process will occur for the principal position.

Next year will be one of change for the Scituate Public Schools, but for now the wait is on.