Danvers Acting Superintendent's Contract Extended Through 2022-23

DANVERS, MA — Danvers Acting Superintendent Mary Wermers will remain on the job leading the district through the 2022-23 school year pending the hiring of a permanent replacement for Lisa Dana, who retired this spring after a lengthy medical leave.

Wermers and Keith Taverna were appointed co-acting superintendents in December when Dana took her medical leave amid intense scrutiny in the wake of a locker room hazing scandal within the boys hockey program in 202o. Their contracts were then extended several times through the winter and spring.

Taverna left the school district for another position at the end of May with Wermers taking over as the sole acting superintendent.

"I think everyone agrees that we have every confidence in what this next coming year will look like," Danvers School Committee Chair Eric Crane said of the appointment during Wednesday's School Committee meeting. "(Wermers has) a plan in place. This will allow us to go about the superintendent search knowing that the schools are running the way they should be, and we hope not missing a beat."

The School Committee plans to have a search consultant in place to identify candidates for the permanent superintendent by the end of this week.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)