Small Turnout for Superintendent Forum

The school system's consultant in its search for a new superintendent held a public forum Wednesday evening designed to solicit feedback on qualities the community would most like to see in the next hire, but only 10 people showed up to offer their opinions. 

The forum was hosted by Jacqueline Jacoby, a consultant for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, which the Manchester Board of Education has retained to assist it in its search for , who left the school system in October of last year to accept the same position in Waterbury. The forum was held in the cafeteria of Arthur H. Illing Middle School. 

The small turnout allowed Jacoby to engage in a free-flowing, back-and-forth discussion with those who attended about the qualities they would most like to see in Manchester's next superintendent. 

"You can't hire someone with no experience, because it is a big task," said Matt Maloney, a parent of three students in the Manchester Public Schools system. 

Although some said they wanted a superintendent with some form of business or management experience, the majority who attended Wednesday's meeting said they would prefer someone with a solid educationally background, preferably someone who worked themselves up from the classroom. 

"It's nice to hear that a superintendent comes up through the ranks," said Kimberley Bebyn, a parent of two students in the town's public schools. "Because if you haven't been a teacher, you don't know what it's like day in and day out. And to truly be a leader of the teachers', I think it's critical to have that background." 

The discussion lasted a little longer than an hour. When it was finished, Jacoby said the areas of consensus that the group wanted in a new superintendent included: 

• A dynamic, inspirational leader. 
• A good communicator.
• Someone who maintained a level of discipline in the schools without a blanket policy to deal with all offenses. 
• A strong educational background and someone who enjoys interacting with students and parents. 
• And somebody who cares about and is invested in the Manchester community. 

"This is I think the most important job in Manchester," said Bethany Silver, a former member of the Board of Education who attended Wednesday's forum.

Silver said the new superintendent had to be someone who could forge a stronger relationship between the Board of Education and Board of Directors, because the town faced many issues with the state of its public schools that would need to be addressed in the not too distant future. 

"I think that we need someone who is going to be ready to work on that relationship," she said. 

Jacoby said she and the school board were still in the initial phases of the search, but that she anticipated interviews would take place for the position sometime in April, and a candidate would likely be picked by the end of May. 

A second superintendent forum is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of Verplanck Elementary School, 126 Olcott St. Residents who can't attend the forum but would still like to make their opinion known are urged to fill out an online survey on the Board of Education's website by Feb. 3. 

The low turnout Wednesday night might have been at least partially attributable to a that the Board of Education held at Manchester High School in which it voted to adopt a budget proposal for the 2012-13 school year and shutter Natan Hale Elementary School. 

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