Dear All, I will be hosting an organizational meeting TONIGHT, a day in advance of tomorrow's School Committee meeting, so residents have a chance to share ideas and concerns in advance, and to reach some consensus on what members of the community would like to see as the new Superintendent search process gets underway. It is a relief to know that the Agenda for the May 24th meeting has been modified to accomodate citizens' needs and concerns. As per the current Agenda, Public Participation is ahead of the Superintendent discussion and the voting for interim Superintendent has been moved to a future date. We want to thank the School Committee for making these changes in advance. We see this as a hopeful sign that the School Committee wants to work with members of the community to achieve common goals. As much as this is a small victory for all of us, we still have many questions to be answered. Before moving towards the next steps, I believe all community members would like to get answers to the questions I have listed below. Others may wish to share other questions. The organizational meeting will be informal and open to all, but if you only have time this week to attend one meeting, please come to the School Committee meeting on Wednesday night. We are meeting at 7:30 PM in the new location at the High School Auditorium. Tonight's Organizational meeting details: Date: Tuesday, May-23rd Time: 8:00 PM Venue: 136 Great Road. We will be meeting at the Mathnasium office. We will set broad goals that we can agree upon. For example, do we all agree that current process needs to be more transparent and at this point, our number One priority is to find the best candidate to take over as Superintendent? Specific Questions to discuss: As per Dr. Brand’s employment contract, he had received a "proficient" rating for 2 consecutive years. This led to a 7% salary raise over a period of 2 years. This also led to an extension of the contract (which was originally from 2014 - 2017) until 2018. We the residents would like to know what philosophical changes happened for such a sudden and drastic action? Was the decision which led to the resignation of Dr. Brand made in an Open Meeting or Executive Session? If the decision was made in an Executive Session, then did the School Committee hold an Executive Session behind closed doors prior to the announcement? If so, what is the justification, and why aren't the meeting minutes public at this time? The community members would like clarity regarding the School Committee’s philosophy (referenced in the May-18th statement). Please detail the Committee's educational and operational philosophies. Where did the divergence occur between Dr. Brand’s educational and operational philosophies and those of the School Committee? Did Dr. Brand’s educational and operational philosophies change significantly between the time that he was hired and the present? If not, why was the committee unaware of these differences, which presumably should have been uncovered during the lengthy and elaborate recruitment and hiring process. Who will act as the Interim Superintendent while the search commences? Will this role have modified/limited decision rights given the breadth of topics on the table this year? Can the community be assured that this line of succession was not a driver for the previously mentioned "philosophical differences”? In the last search, the criteria for the role of Superintendent was reduced so as not to require an advanced degree (rendered moot, as Dr Brand does). Can the community be assured that these criteria will be reinstated? During the period of the new Superintendent search, will the initiatives in progress proceed in the same direction as prior to the separation decision? These initiatives include, but are not limited to, Capital Space Planning, School Time & Transportation Changes, Student Mental Wellness, and Homework Policy Evaluations. Regards, Susri Anuradha