At school board’s request, superintendent reconsiders plan to retire
LITCHFIELD – The search for a school superintendent ends where it began.
Elaine Cutler will not retire at the end of the school year and will stay on as superintendent until at least summer of 2011.
Cutler reversed her decision after the School Board asked her to reconsider, she said. Cutler had intended to retire to spend time with her husband. Sadly, her husband died last month, prompting her to reconsider her future, she said.
“I talked to my family. It’s probably the best thing for me,” Cutler said Monday.
The School Board had three finalists to interview for the job, but within about two weeks, two of the candidates dropped out.
Left with one candidate, board members determined they couldn’t properly continue the process.
“It was tough to go on with one candidate,” board member Cindy Couture said. “We hadn’t got to the point of interviewing yet. But we didn’t have any options. He may have been the best guy in the world, but we didn’t have any options.”
The board met in a nonpublic session Wednesday and voted to suspend the search process.
A leading factor in suspending the search was that the ideal candidate for the job was still sitting in the superintendent’s office, the board said in a statement.
With Cutler willing to stay, the board voted to rescind her resignation.
She will remain superintendent until the end of the 2010-11 school year and will consider serving possibly longer, she said.
Cutler’s husband, Anthony Burell, died Jan. 24.
“I’ve had an amazing amount of support from the community,” she said.
Cutler said she enjoys the job. The board, in turn, appreciates her efforts, Couture said.
“It’s important to have continuity,” Couture said. “There’s such a huge turnover of leaders in school districts … to have her stay on, that’s very attractive. She has been a great addition to Litchfield.”
Cutler came aboard ostensibly as a pinch hitter in November 2007, serving as an interim superintendent when Catherine Hamblett left the district after she married and moved to Vermont.
The district said at the time Cutler would hold the job until a replacement stepped in for the 2008-09 school year. But Cutler has led the district for nearly three years and will continue for a few more.
Two board members met with the remaining candidate – Mark Blount, an assistant superintendent of the Londonderry School District – and explained the new development, the statement said.
Last week, Amanda Lecaroz, director of curriculum for the Litchfield School District, withdrew her candidacy for the superintendent job.
Prior to that, as soon as the last round of candidates had been chosen, Thomas McDonald, CEO of the Hyannis, Mass., company BeSafe Technologies, dropped out of consideration.
A committee comprising residents, teachers and students chose the three finalists.
Albert McKeon can be reached at 594-5832 or amckeon@nashuatelegraph.com.
Meet the new boss; same as the old boss
LITCHFIELD – The search for a school superintendent ends where it began.
Elaine Cutler will not retire at the end of the school year, and will stay on as superintendent until at least summer of 2011.
Cutler reversed her decision after the School Board asked her to reconsider, she said. Cutler had intended to retire to spend time with her husband, but he died last month, prompting her to reconsider her future, she said.
“I talked to my family. It’s probably the best thing for me,” Cutler said Monday.
The School Board had three finalists to interview for the job, but within about two weeks, two of the candidates dropped out.
Left with only one candidate, board members determined they couldn’t properly continue the process.
“It was tough to go on with one candidate,” board member Cindy Couture said. “We hadn’t got to the point of interviewing yet. But we didn’t have any options. He may have been the best guy in the world, but we didn’t have any options.”
The board met in a non-public session Wednesday and voted to suspend the search process. A leading factor in suspending the search was that the ideal candidate was still in the superintendent’s office, the board said in a statement.
With Cutler willing to stay, the board voted to rescind her resignation. She will remain superintendent until the end of the 2010-11 school year, and will consider serving possibly longer, she said.
Cutler’s husband, Anthony Burell, died Jan. 24. “I’ve had an amazing amount of support from the community,” she said.
Cutler said she enjoys the job. The board, in turn, appreciates her efforts, Couture said.
“It’s important to have continuity,” Couture said. “There’s such a huge turnover of leaders in school districts…to have her stay on, that’s very attractive. She has been a great addition to Litchfield.”
Cutler came aboard ostensibly as a pinch hitter in November 2007, serving as an interim superintendent when Catherine Hamblett left the district after she married and moved to Vermont.
The district said at the time Cutler would hold the job until a replacement stepped in for the 2008-09 school year. But Cutler has led the district for nearly three years and will continue for a few more.
Two board members met with the remaining candidate – Mark Blount, an assistant superintendent of the Londonderry School District – and explained the new development, the statement said.
Last week, Amanda Lecaroz, director of curriculum for the Litchfield School District, withdrew her candidacy for the superintendent job.
Prior to that, as soon as the last round of candidates had been chosen, Thomas McDonald, CEO of the Hyannis, Mass., company BeSafe Technologies, dropped out of consideration.
A committee comprising residents, teachers and students chose the three finalists.
Albert McKeon can be reached at 594-5832 or amckeon@nashuatelegraph.com
