Nahant school board ahead of schedule, selects three finalists for superintendent post

NAHANT – The Nahant School District has selected three finalists for the part time superintendent position.School Committee Vice Chairman Christine Kendall said there were initially 12 candidates and the search committee narrowed it down to three finalists.The finalists are Philip Devaux of Marblehead, David Sklarz of West Hartford and Joseph Connelly from Reading.Devaux, who owns his own educational consulting business, served as the superintendent for the Marblehead Public Schools from 1995 through 2002.Sklarz has served as superintendent for the West Hartford School district for 14 years and has announced he would be retiring from the district in June. Prior to his tenure in West Hartford, Sklarz served as superintendent in Santa Cruz, Calif.Connelly, who is retired, was the interim superintendent in 2007-2008 for the Berlin-Boylston School and was the superintendent in Stoneham from 1998 through 2007. He is currently the interim principal of an elementary school in Brookline.Nahant’s Interim Superintendent Joseph Lisi has announced he is stepping down June 30 when his contract with the district expires. Kendall said the School Committee would be scheduling interviews with the finalists this week and next week and the School Committee would like to make a final decision by the end of May.”We’re ahead of the time frame we had set for ourselves,” she said. “All three are very strong candidates and the School Committee is comfortable with all three. It’s just a matter of picking the best match for the district.”