Saugus to resume superintendent interview process

SAUGUS – The stalled superintendent search will get back underway Thursday when the School Committee sits down to interview Mary Dickerson of Texas.The committee had only two interviews after a candidate from Maine withdrew her name from contention.The committee sat down with Tyngsborough resident Donald Ciampa earlier this month, but had to postpone a meeting with Dickerson when a family issue forced her to cancel.Superintendent Keith Manville said the interview has been rescheduled for Thursday evening but the exact time is unclear.School Committee Chairman Joseph Malone said he believes the interview will get underway around 5 p.m. but it could be later.The delay puts the School Committee behind the eight ball in terms of choosing a successor to Manville.Manville will be leaving his post at the end of June. He said at the start of the search process that it would be nice to have a candidate chosen by March so he would have time to work with him or her.Now a decision will not be made before May and when the candidate will be able to start is questionable.”We are pressed for time,” Malone admitted.And now the committee has an additional five applications it’s reviewing.Malone said a small subcommittee was convened to review five additional resumes that came in. Because they are short on time, he said the entire search committee could not be pulled together but committee members Christine Wilson and Wendy Reed are heading a smaller version.”It’s new candidates each with strong credentials and good resumes,” he said.Though she is traveling north from Texas, Dickerson has plenty of local ties. She holds a doctorate from Boston College and did her undergraduate work at Leslie College and Harvard University. She is currently heading up a private middle school in San Antonio but Wilson said she’s indicated she is ready to come back home.Malone said he has heard good things about Dickerson’s leadership skills and he likes that she has her doctorate. He said there was some concern that Ciampa did not have his doctorate but he said he did have a number of glowing reviews.Wilson had said previously that she expected the committee would make its decision after interviewing Dickerson or shortly thereafter but the new potential candidates could throw a wrench into that time line as well.”We wanted a candidate by March and now it’s May,” Malone said. “We are pressed for time.”