Montville wants help on superintendent search

— The school board has posted a survey and links to virtual focus groups as it asks residents to help pick a replacement for Superintendent of Schools Laurie Pallin.

Mary Broderick, an independent consultant hired to help with the survey, said Monday she will use it along with opinions from four virtual focus groups, to build a “leadership profile” that describes what school administrators, teachers, parents and guardians are looking for in a superintendent candidate.

The board will then use the profile to help narrow its applicant pool, determine who it will interview and create interview questions.

“And ultimately in selecting the final candidate,” Broderick said.

In January, the school board accepted Pallin’s retirement, which takes effect at the end of the school year in June, and created a search committee with its own nine members.

Last week, it posted the survey, and meeting links, on the town website at https://www.townofmontville.org/announcements/ montville-adult-education-spring-2024-semester/, and on the schools’ website at https://www.montvilleschools.org/apps/news/.

The survey, which will close March 8, asks residents what expertise and personal qualities they think Pallin’s replacement should have, and if they know of anyone who might fit the role. Forty-nine people have filled it out as of Monday, Broderick said.

The virtual focus groups will be held on March 11 and 13. At those, teachers, administrators and parents will discuss what qualities they’re looking for in a successor, and what the district’s goals should be as they evaluate potential candidates. The job currently pays $199,000, according to school board Chair Wills Pike.

Broderick, who also served on East Lyme’s school board for 22 years, said about 10 years ago many school boards began leaving residents out of the search process to prevent lawsuits over breaches of confidentiality.

“The problem with that is it leaves a lot of wisdom out of the room as they’re deliberating,” Broderick said. “So this is my best effort to bring those voices back into the room, and help provide that wisdom, while the board itself is deliberating.”