Wheelock principal finalists announced; revised budget voted

At the April 1 Medfield School Committee meeting based on an agenda item labeled "Administrator Search Update," Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden announced that two finalists for the Wheelock Elementary School Principal position have been selected: Holli Caulfield, principal of Oakdale Elementary School in Dedham, and Ana Hurley, a science teacher in Dover-Sherborn Middle School.

Holli Caulfield is a Milken Educator award winner whose posted biography states that she became Oakdale principal in 2005, and at the time of the award, she was a teacher at Old Post Road School in East Walpole.

Based on her public LinkedIn profile, Ana Hurley has been a science teacher and curriculum leader in Dover-Sherborn Middle School since 2005. She has served in a number of team leader and coordinator roles and on school councils.

Marsden said that applicants were narrowed down by a search committee comprised of two school committee members, administrators, teachers, parents and a community representative. Few details were shared for next steps in the selection process, but the original SchoolSpring job posting noted that the new principal will begin July 1, 2019.

Current Wheelock Principal Donna Olson will retire at the end of the 2018/19 school year. She joined the district in 2012 after a 33-year career as a principal and teacher in Rhode Island.

Also as part of the Administrator Search Update, Marsden provided an abbreviated overview of the process to recruit and hire a "Director of Instruction & Innovation," a new Central Office senior administrator position with a salary range of $140,000-$150,000. The SchoolSpring job listing for the position closed on March 15, and Marsden reported that a number of candidates have applied. It is unclear what the job entails beyond the two-sentence description that originally appeared online, and no detailed timeline for the process was shared at the School Committee meeting.

In other business related to the budget:

• Medfield School Committee unanimously approved reductions in its proposed FY20 school budget. Instead of a 4.54-percent proposed increase approved in January at its public hearing, it voted on a smaller 3.99 percent increase which will ultimately be brought forth at this year's Medfield Town Meeting.

• Marsden noted that reductions were achieved a number of ways, including staff retirements and extended leaves, and through a current budget freeze that allows the district to push certain special education funding into the new school year.

• No bus fees will be implemented for the fall or during fiscal-year 2020.