Former Oak Bluffs School principal Megan Farrell, who retired at the beginning of the summer, has accepted a one-year position as assistant superintendent of the Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools system.

Ms. Farrell starts her new job Sept. 3, superintendent of schools Richie Smith said this week.

“Megan is someone who will plug in immediately. She’ll support the instructional side. She can support the operational side. She knows everyone,” said Mr. Smith, who held the assistant superintendent position himself for several years before taking the top job in 2022.

Since then, Mr. Smith has held his former full-time job open, tapping its $150,000 salary budget to hire school district retirees to assist him as superintendent.

Ms. Farrell started at the Oak Bluffs school more than 20 years ago, working as a teacher and a reading specialist before becoming the permanent principal in 2016. 

The assistant superintendent post was previously held by retired Edgartown principal John Stevens, who worked with Mr. Smith for the past two school years and now is returning to lead his old school as the district searches for a permanent principal.

State regulations prohibit retired public employees from working full-time, although Mr. Stevens was able to secure an exemption allowing him to become a full-time interim principal again in Edgartown.

At the school district, Ms. Farrell will be working three-fifths of a full-time schedule during her one-year contract, Mr. Smith said.

“We will do a full search once we know, budget-wise, what our long-term plans are in the [assistant superintendent] position,” he said.

Mr. Smith’s latest hiring announcement follows a spate of retirements and personnel changes over the past year.

In Oak Bluffs, Ms. Farrell has been succeeded as principal by former Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School assistant principal Jeremy Light, whose former role at the high school is now being filled by a new director of student affairs, Jared Andrews.

Edgartown lost both its principal and assistant principal; Mr. Smith has promoted longtime school counselor Deborah DeBettencourt to the assistantship, with Mr. Stevens to mentor her over the coming year.

Chilmark School also has a new principal this year: Kate Squires, formerly of Concord, succeeds the retired Susan Stevens, (who is married to Mr. Stevens).

While Ms. Squires was able to find housing on the Island, Mr. Smith said the process wasn’t easy and helps illustrate why the district so often falls back on retired educators to fill key positions.

“Trying to find people to come here and live here — it’s a challenge,” he said.