Help Wanted: Old Hammondtown Principal

Mattapoisett School Committee members discussed the Old Rochester Regional School District’s second opening for the position of principal in the past three months, as Old Hammondtown’s Matt D’Andrea will become the next assistant superintendent of the Martha’s Vineyard School District starting in November.

Moira Rodgers resigned as principal of Rochester Memorial School in May, and was soon succeeded by Derek Medeiros.

ORR School District Superintendent Doug White offered the Mattapoisett School Committee his outlook on the process to replace D’Andrea, 49, who has led Old Hammondtown for five years.

“My recommendation would be that we look at hiring someone on an interim basis,” said White, who will ultimately appoint the school’s next principal. “The primary issue is the candidate pool: When you try to fill a position in the beginning of a school year or first half, a lot of people are already committed to their contracts, limiting the possibility for candidates who can pursue opportunities like this.”

White added that the district could re-evaluate its options at a later date.

“This would give us the chance to look at what direction we’d like to go in after fiscal year 14,” he said.

Mattapoisett School Committee member Charles Motta suggested that the district look into interviewing candidates who applied for the RMS principal position.

In other personnel news, the Mattapoisett School Committee voted to install Patrick LeClair as vice-chair, replacing Gracinda Knox, who recently resigned from the committee. LeClair will also join the policy subcommittee.

The committee will seek to fill the vacancy left by Knox’s departure.

Elsewhere on the agenda, the committee approved a transfer of about $4,000 from its revolving account to its operating account to help bolster its Full Day K budget.

The Mattapoisett School Committee is scheduled to next meet on October 21.

By Shawn Badgley

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