School Committee to Discuss Hiring of Superintendent, Business Manager

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Monday night, the School Committee will hold a special meeting to discuss the hiring process for two top positions in the Watertown Public Schools Administration.

Last week, Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald announced her retirement beginning in October. On Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. the School Committee will discuss the process of hiring an interim superintendent and a permanent replacement for Fitzgerald.

That night, the School Committee will also discuss hiring a new school business manager after Charles Kellner also announced his retirement.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St. in Watertown.

10 thoughts on “School Committee to Discuss Hiring of Superintendent, Business Manager

  1. Everyone should turn out for this! Rumors are that Candace Miller and Watertown Strong Schools are already lobbying for who they want as Super. So much for an open and transparent process! Come to the meeting and advocate for a real search – not a fake one. We deserve the best super we can get.

  2. I understand that you are deeply upset that the superintendent has chosen to retire. If at any point, you would like to have a face to face conversation, like an adult, to discuss your concerns, I would be happy to talk with you. To be clear, the Chair of the School Committee is organizing the selection process with assistance from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. As a member of the Watertown School Committee, a parent, and a community member, I too believe we deserve the BEST interim and permanent superintendent that we can attract. I too want a transparent, participatory process.

    • These constant attacks against both sitting school committee members and parents who involved themselves as concerned citizens is getting extremely obnoxious.

      The nastiness of Ms. Dorenkamp both on multiple public Facebook pages as well as “anonymously” on comments here are becoming disturbing. I’m not sure why anyone would take a public official choosing to retire so personally, but most of us are sick of hearing her vitriol.

      Can’t we all just move on? The superintendent has made her decision- now we have bigger issues to tackle.

      • Obviously, we have to move on from the departure of the Superintendent. That is unfortunately a done deal. But the other problem is the way in which she left. Let’s not pretend that she just woke up one day and decided to retire. The way it was done is not something we can move on from because the people who led the attack on her are still here. And they should be accountable for their actions.

        No one is forcing you to read this page. You kicked me off of your page so what can I do?

      • So I guess it was okay to constantly attack a sitting superintendent? And how hypocritical of “Watertown Resident” to attack an anonymous comment. If you are a concerned citizen then stand up and air your concerns in public and stop cowering behind an internet username.

  3. I’m concerned about being attacked by Ms. Dorenkamp who seems to have no compunction whatsoever regarding flinging personal attacks at anyone who disagrees with her. Do I “cower behind anonymity”? Perhaps. But I simply have no interest in being attacked by someone who has publicly lambasted others for anything she deems disagreeable.

    It’s clear that your little group has chosen to act like rabid attack dogs and tells each other where to comment and spew your anger towards anyone who dares to disagree with you.

    I’m not a member of WSS, and I’m not anyone who runs a page, but I’ve been watching these conversations play out, as is the rest of the community. The only attacks have been from you, Mr. DeLorio, Mr. Shepard, and Ms. Dorenkamp.

  4. I have not attacked anyone. I have asked questions and pointed out inaccurate statements. If you consider that an attack, that is your opinion, but please, provide examples when you accuse me of something.

    I am easy to find online and when I have something to say, I try to stick to the facts and I certainly don’t use anonymous accounts.

    There are many parents who are outraged and appalled at what has happened to the school committee and choose to share their opinions off-line, rather than online. Why? They don’t want to deal with the backlash from WSS and having their opinions attacked or censored.

    Anyone who knows me can tell you that I enjoy a good debate, so let’s get back to that.

  5. Odd comments from Mike Shepard. I have talked to many, many parents in town and have only ever found people were unhappy with school administration or were just disconnected and unaware of issues. Haven’t yet met anyone besides Erika Dorenkamp or Ben DeLorio who has put any effort at all into campaigning FOR the current leadership. I don’t think Mr. Shepard has some sort of ear to the ground of a group of parents that no one else has talked to or heard from.

    We’re almost a year away from the next round of School Committee elections– four seats up for grabs. It will become less and less transparent who’s setting themselves up to get back in…

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