Meeting Tonight (Tuesday) on Next Steps in School Supt. Search; Decision Possible

The School Committee will meet in person tonight, Dec. 21, to review and consider candidates for the position of Superintendent of Schools,  "with the understanding that the School Committee may vote to enter into negotiations with the successful candidate," according to the posted agenda.

The four final candidates paid a visit to all six schools last week and were interviewed later in the evening following their tour of the buildings.

The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the School Department conference room, 220 Central St. and is open to the public.

The finalists are: Margaret Adams, current Assistant Superintendent of the Melrose Public Schools; Dr. Scott Carpenter, current Superintendent of the Monomoy Regional School District; Dr. Jennifer Curtis, current Executive Director of South Shore Stars and former Superintendent of Weymouth Public Schools; and Dr. Andrea Schwamb, current Assistant Superintendent of the Wareham Public Schools.

The "Superintendent Search" link on the HPS website contains their resumes, successful candidate and Hingham superintendent profiles,  screening committee details, and the timeline for selecting an individual to replace former Supt. of Schools Paul Austin, who resigned last summer.

It's up to the School Committee, with assistance from the New England School Development Council throughout the search process, to make the final decision.

"We'll be discussing next steps at Tuesday's meeting and deciding whether we have enough, or need more, information or site visits and whether or not we are ready to vote," School Committee Chair Kerry Ni said during Monday's remote meeting.

"We're in good shape because we started the search process last summer and have really stuck to our timeline, which has given us access to the best candidates out there at a time when many school districts are looking for new superintendents," Ni continued.

She went on to thank the volunteers, students, screening committee members, administrators, staff, PTO presidents, and everyone involved in the process.

Harbor Media taped last week's interviews of the four final candidates, which may be viewed on YouTube. Harbor Media will also record Tuesday's meeting.