School board does double duty in January

Ongoing budget talks, superintendent search 

Jan. 12, 2021  |  By Lisa Scagliotti  

The next three weeks on the calendar is full for the Harwood Unified Union School District board as it moves through the typical January budget exercise ahead of Town Meeting Day, this year on March 1. 

But at the same time, a second set of meetings reflects a fast track to proceed through the search and selection process to choose a successor for Superintendent Brigid Nease who is stepping down when her contract ends June 30. 

The board so far has had just two sessions to discuss budget details in December. This Wednesday’s meeting was to be its first session back after the holiday break. Finance Manager Michelle Baker last month told the board key pieces of information from the state needed to consider in shaping the budget should be available by now. 

The board has asked the administration to present a level-service budget for the 2022-23 school year, one that will essentially continue current programming and staffing levels. 

Last year, voters approved a budget of $40.39 million. The current draft budget is shaping up to reflect an increase between 3 and 4%, totaling just under $42 million. It’s still in the preliminary stages however, with final board approval needed by the end of the month in order to meet deadlines to put it on the March 1 ballot. 

Board Chair Torrey Smith said she anticipated discussion at this week’s meeting would cover some building related items that may be included in next year’s spending plan. 

Voters in November rejected a $60 million construction bond that would have funded extensive renovations to Harwood Union High School starting this year along with an expansion at Crossett Brook Middle School to consolidate seventh and eighth grade classes there. Board members may choose some pressing items from the failed proposal to fund in the annual budget to address building needs, she said. 

So far since the vote, the board has not discussed how to proceed on merging the grade 7 and 8 students now at Harwood Middle School into Crossett Brook. The issue has been debated for several years with the latest decision last year to proceed after an addition could be built at Crossett Brook to accommodate the Harwood classes.

With school construction plans now indefinitely on hold, the board may revisit the merger question, Smith said, but it likely will be after the March election. Seven of the board’s 14 seats will be up for voters to decide and five of the members holding those positions have said they will not be running for re-election. 

“Since the bond failed, there has not been additional board conversation about next steps. I think we have been aware that there will be a large turnover of the [board] membership and thought it made sense to have the new group making the next set of decisions,” Smith explained. “I would expect that the new leadership/board would decide when to take it up this spring.”

Superintendent search 

The application period for the superintendent search ended Jan. 3 and seven of the candidates have been asked to provide video responses for the selection committee to move ahead to decide who to include in the next rounds of interviews this month. 

Smith said the committee which includes board members, an administrator and a union representative, this week were reviewing those video responses. Subsequent interviews will result in three finalists being selected, Smith said. 

The finalists would be interviewed by the entire board in executive session as well as a set of interviews that will be broadcast and recorded for the public to see. 

Smith said details of the candidate pool so far are confidential, but specifics regarding the finalists would be shared later in the process. The board is aiming to make an offer for the job in early February. 

Details on the selection process and schedule are online on the district’s website HUUSD.org under the Superintendent Search tab.