Six GM board members say what went into principal voting decisions

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC

The actual deliberations that went into the Green Mountain Unified School District board’s decision not to offer GM teacher Keith Hill a one-year contract as principal will remain shrouded by the executive session where they took place.

But The Telegraph asked board members to share their personal thought processes for a window into the result. We did not ask anyone to reveal the contents of the executive session although a few outlined how the meeting unfolded.

The motion to hire Hill was defeated on a vote of 4 to 3 with one abstention in an open session at the end of the special board meeting on Tuesday, April 6. Of the nine board members, six agreed to speak about the process. Of the four no votes, Michael Studin and Jeannie Wade, both of Chester, declined to comment for The Telegraph. Board newcomer Josh Schroeder, who voted to hire Hill, had not responded to a phone call by publication time.

“It was very straight forward,” said Rick Alexander of Chester, one of the four to vote no. “We spent an hour with each candidate and more than an hour talking about (the decision.) Board members asked some really good questions, Dennis (Reilly) was careful to ask both candidates the same questions.” Alexander said this was good for making comparisons.

Reilly, a Cavendish resident who also voted no, said he focused his questions on leadership in the 21st century education environment.

“The good news is that everybody did their job,” said Reilly. “The committee did its job in nominating candidates, the superintendent did her job in recommending a candidate. The process worked but the answers that came out were not what teachers and staff wanted. I understand that. They’ve known him for 13 years.”

“But with the questions that were asked and the answers received,” said  Reilly, “I could not agree with the choice.” Reilly told The Telegraph that he was looking for more management experience, which Alexander also mentioned.

Interestingly enough, so did Lois Perlah who voted in favor of hiring Hill.

“My feeling was that we were talking about a short-term deal,” said Perlah referring to the proposed one-year contract. “So give the guy a chance. Neither one of them had significant administrative experience. I listened to both of them and I listened to Lauren.” Perlah was referring to Lauren Fierman, superintendent of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union of which Green Mountain High is a part.

“I went to the open forum (in late March) with an open mind and formed some opinions from that,” said Board vice chair Deb Brown, of Chester. “I think that Keith was more impressive that night and I was excited for the future of Green Mountain.”

“I think that both were qualified,” added Brown noting that Fierman had mentioned that the search committee was very excited about Hill after they had reviewed and interviewed a lot of people in the two searches they conducted.

Brown also praised the search committee, saying there were “a number of solid, well-qualified people serving on it.”

Alexander said he found the second candidate, Gwen Hagenbarth, to be “detail-oriented and data-driven with more experience.”

That left Wayne Wheelock of Baltimore, who abstained from the vote. Wheelock told The Telegraph, “I saw it coming and I did not want to be a part of hurting someone. I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

“I was very surprised how it went,” said board chair Joe Fromberger, of Andover, who does not normally vote except when there is a tie. “I was surprised it came to the board without knowing how they would vote.”

“There’s no perfect principal, but I was looking for someone who is well-rounded,” said Reilly, “I like Lauren, I trust and respect her judgment, but I could not agree with her choice.” Reilly said a one-year appointment would not be fair to anyone.

Both Reilly and Alexander said they were in favor of conducting a third search. “We have until summer,” said Alexander.

Perlah said she didn’t know what to expect from this Thursday night’s meeting, but planned “to be a good listener and try to make the best decision for the district.”