WARE SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK

By Melissa Fales

Ware River News reporter

DiLeo is internal candidate for superintendent seat

At the Nov. 20 Ware School Committee meeting, Chair Christopher Desjardins announced that the district had received one application in response to the internal posting for the superintendent job; Dr. Marlene DiLeo, principal of Ware Junior Senior High School. The committee members will interview DiLeo at their Dec. 4 meeting. While it won’t be televised, the interview will be held in open session and the public is invited to attend.

The committee is also seeking public comment regarding DiLeo and her suitability for the job. According to a policy established several years ago, anonymous contributions will be dismissed. “We won’t use your name and we won’t mention your name to the candidate but everything must be signed,” said Desjardins.

The committee had established a deadline of Jan. 1 for deciding on any internal candidates but committee member Danielle Souza expressed concern about the time limitations should the committee decide to seek an external candidate. Committee member Aaron Sawabi suggested contacting the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to get a better sense of the timeline for a possible external search. “I know there are special steps we’d have to follow,” he said. “I’d like to know what they are.”  Committee member Brian Winslow questioned what kind of message it would send to the internal candidate to already be working on the external search before the interview had even taken place. “I think we need to concentrate on what we have in front of us,” he said. Sawabi and Souza said they weren’t suggesting any lack of confidence in the internal candidate, but wanted to make sure the committee was prepared should it need to look externally. Souza said she was being proactive. “It’s just such a big responsibility,” she said.

Desjardins said he thought the committee should stick to the timeline they had agreed upon. He said he would give the MASC representative a heads-up that the district will be interviewing an internal candidate next month with the possibility of expanding to an external search early in 2014.

 

SMK PTO to have a Facebook page

Liz Nicholas and Keon Ruiter, Grade Three teachers and co-presidents of the Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School PTO, asked the committee to approve the creation of an SMK PTO Facebook page. They explained that it’s a challenge to get people involved in PTO activities and difficult to communicate with parents. Ruiter said they felt Facebook would be the best way to reach more people due to the popularity of the site. “This is something people check religiously,” said Ruiter. “Facebook is a habit.”

As the page administrators, Nicholas and Ruiter will be the only ones allowed to post anything. If the PTO leadership changes, they will roll the administrator role over to the next co-presidents. No photos or names of students will be posted and people will have access to the page by invitation only. “It will be private,” said Ruiter. “Your average Joe off the street won’t be able to become a member.”  Nicholas said she had researched several other PTOs in neighboring towns who used Facebook successfully. The majority of the committee voted to approve the creation of the Facebook page.

 

Joan Sawabi selected for recording secretary position

After interviewing three candidates for the position of school committee recording secretary, the committee voted to offer the job to Joan Sawabi. “This was definitely a tough decision,” said Desjardins. “The applicants were strong.”

During her interview, Sawabi said not only would she be able to complete the meeting minutes in a timely, accurate fashion, but she would also make sure that the committee’s records were properly stored for future reference. “I really want to help the school district,” she said.

When Winslow asked if Sawabi and her husband, committee member Aaron Sawabi, would be able to avoid discussing confidential topics outside of executive session, she stated that it hasn’t been an issue for the over five years he’s served on the committee.  “We’ve always been able to separate that in our relationship,” she said. Aaron Sawabi did not participate in the interview process or the vote.