Fierman to TRSU board: departures are for individual personal reasons

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC

At the regular monthly meeting of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union Board last Thursday, Superintendent Lauren Fierman briefed that body on the recent spate of administrators departing the system.

“I know from the outside it looks like as though there must be something awful happening that all of our principals are leaving and it’s simply not true,” said Fierman.”Everybody has a different story and reasons for why they are going.”

• See related article: Hill, Donohue departures at GM mark latest changes for TRSU

Fierman said that Chester-Andover Principal Katherine Fogg announced her retirement last year and that a new principal – Joanna Blane an instructional coach in the Bennington Rutland SU – has been hired for the 2023-24 school year.

She also noted that Ludlow Elementary Principal Cathy Farman was leaving for a “dream job” that she did not seek, but was recruited for. On Monday, Fierman told The Telegraph that Farman was hired to design and lead an alternative intensive needs program for 6th, 7th and 8th graders in Addison County. Fierman said that Farman has both principal and special education licenses, making this a “perfect job for her.”

“It’s a loss for us,” said Fierman, “but we can’t compete with the amount of support for that program and the opportunity for her to design it.”

A search for Farman’s replacement yielded 15 applications of which two finalists will be interviewed by the Ludlow Mount Holly board on Wednesday, April 12.

In an email to families, Cavendish Principal Amy Bohren – who moved to Vermont with her family last year – said she was “taking a pause to be with my family and reflect on where I think my strengths as a professional will lead me.” An additional burden was that Bohren lived in Killington and the commute was difficult.

Fierman said she was disappointed that Bohren was leaving but she “supports anyone who is making decisions that are best for her.”

The situation was similar with GM Assistant Principal Ananda Donohue, who was trying her hand at working in secondary education after being a principal in New York State. Donohue is moving back to New York where her family lives, according to Fierman, and taking a job as a principal of an elementary school.

Fierman also told the board that Green Mountain Principal Keith Hill would be leaving his position at the end of the school year and “moving quite a distance from Chester to pursue some personal and family goals.” In an email to GM parents, Hill said “after fifteen years at Green Mountain it is time to take steps in other directions.”

“I’m disappointed to lose him,” Fierman told The Telegraph. “I thought and think he is the right choice for the schools, but he needs to do the right thing for himself and his family.”

“If I were looking at it from the outside, I would assume there was some kind of problem with the superintendent,” Fierman told the TRSU board. “That she’s difficult to work with or some other problem….People are going to believe what they want to believe and if they have questions, I’m happy to talk with them.”

“I’m disappointed to see people who are doing a good job depart and at the same time I support their choices,” Fierman told The Telegraph.

— Cynthia Prairie contributed to this article.