Twenty Applicants for Principals' Positions; Board Hopes for Resolution Next Week

By CHRIS BURRELL

In a race to fill both principal seats in the two up-Island schools by the middle of the next week, selection committees are now trying to whittle 20 applicants down to half that number for the first cut.

The deadline to apply for the two jobs was Tuesday, and public interviews will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, said Vineyard schools superintendent Kriner Cash.

"I want to make appointments for both schools by Thursday morning," said Mr. Cash.

That puts school leaders a couple days behind their original schedule, which called for appointments to be made by Tuesday.

Both the West Tisbury School and Chilmark School are lacking leaders in the wake of double resignations last month by Elaine Pace and Carlos Colley.

The departure of Mr. Colley from Chilmark and Ms. Pace from West Tisbury came after a year of intense political and financial pressure in the up-Island regional school district.

Now, Mr. Cash, along with two selection committees made up of teachers, parents and school committee members are working overtime to plug the gaps in time for a new school year that starts Sept. 8.

The committees met Wednesday and are expected to recommend the first cut sometime today.

"I'm looking for four (candidates) for Chilmark and about six or seven for West Tisbury to interview," said Mr. Cash.

Of the 20 applicants for the posts, seven are Islanders. Five of the candidates already work in the Vineyard public schools.

Five applicants asked to be considered solely for the Chilmark School principal's job. Eight jobseekers applied for both positions. More than a dozen of the candidates expressed a preference for the West Tisbury job.

The current search is for someone to fill an interim, one-year contract.

It's not entirely clear why contract negotiations with Mr. Colley and Ms. Pace failed to keep the two principals working.

After wrapping up three years on the job, both were in the midst of bargaining for a new contract but were offered only one-year contracts.

Mr. Colley, who told the Gazette earlier this month that he has accepted a principal's position near Albany, N.Y., said he couldn't reach an agreement with the Vineyard schools on a new contract.

Ms. Pace said she planned to stay on the Island and try writing and educational consulting.

Last week, Mr. Cash praised Mr. Colley and Ms. Pace for their hard work and professionalism, while pointing out how difficult it is to recruit and retain good principals.

School leaders up-Island now find themselves back at square one of the recruitment phase. They'll have to do it all over again this winter to hire permanent replacements in the two schools.

Mr. Cash said he is planning to interview candidates early next week, likely between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. Chilmark School interviews will be held at the town library. West Tisbury principal interviews will take place in the school.

In the midst of trying to lock down players for the schools' front offices, one thing is clear: This was a brutal year for school politics in the up-Island towns that compose the regional school district. West Tisbury finance committee members lobbied hard to convince voters to leave the district, complaining that the cost-sharing formula left their taxpayers paying an unfair price for schooling its children.

Up-Island school committee members also went up against another public school in their own neighborhood, charging that the state-sanctioned formula for funding the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School (based in West Tisbury) was siphoning off too much money from the region.

Finally, all the talk in West Tisbury about leaving the school district ended up putting the Chilmark School on a political hot seat. Vocal members of the West Tisbury finance committee pointed to lagging enrollment at the Chilmark School and suggested closing down the little K-5 school to save money.

Chilmark leaders reacted by forming their own task force to investigate reasons behind low enrollment and to recommend changes such as a preschool program that could serve as a feeder program for the kindergarten and first grades.