Twenty Applicants for Principals' Positions; Board Hopes for
Resolution Next Week

By CHRIS BURRELL

In a race to fill both principal seats in the two up-Island schools
by the middle of the next week, selection committees are now trying to
whittle 20 applicants down to half that number for the first cut.

The deadline to apply for the two jobs was Tuesday, and public
interviews will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, said Vineyard
schools superintendent Kriner Cash.

"I want to make appointments for both schools by Thursday
morning," said Mr. Cash.

That puts school leaders a couple days behind their original
schedule, which called for appointments to be made by Tuesday.

Both the West Tisbury School and Chilmark School are lacking leaders
in the wake of double resignations last month by Elaine Pace and Carlos
Colley.

The departure of Mr. Colley from Chilmark and Ms. Pace from West
Tisbury came after a year of intense political and financial pressure in
the up-Island regional school district.

Now, Mr. Cash, along with two selection committees made up of
teachers, parents and school committee members are working overtime to
plug the gaps in time for a new school year that starts Sept. 8.

The committees met Wednesday and are expected to recommend the first
cut sometime today.

"I'm looking for four (candidates) for Chilmark and
about six or seven for West Tisbury to interview," said Mr. Cash.

Of the 20 applicants for the posts, seven are Islanders. Five of the
candidates already work in the Vineyard public schools.

Five applicants asked to be considered solely for the Chilmark
School principal's job. Eight jobseekers applied for both
positions. More than a dozen of the candidates expressed a preference
for the West Tisbury job.

The current search is for someone to fill an interim, one-year
contract.

It's not entirely clear why contract negotiations with Mr.
Colley and Ms. Pace failed to keep the two principals working.

After wrapping up three years on the job, both were in the midst of
bargaining for a new contract but were offered only one-year contracts.

Mr. Colley, who told the Gazette earlier this month that he has
accepted a principal's position near Albany, N.Y., said he
couldn't reach an agreement with the Vineyard schools on a new
contract.

Ms. Pace said she planned to stay on the Island and try writing and
educational consulting.

Last week, Mr. Cash praised Mr. Colley and Ms. Pace for their hard
work and professionalism, while pointing out how difficult it is to
recruit and retain good principals.

School leaders up-Island now find themselves back at square one of
the recruitment phase. They'll have to do it all over again this
winter to hire permanent replacements in the two schools.

Mr. Cash said he is planning to interview candidates early next
week, likely between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m. Chilmark School
interviews will be held at the town library. West Tisbury principal
interviews will take place in the school.

In the midst of trying to lock down players for the schools'
front offices, one thing is clear: This was a brutal year for school
politics in the up-Island towns that compose the regional school
district. West Tisbury finance committee members lobbied hard to
convince voters to leave the district, complaining that the cost-sharing
formula left their taxpayers paying an unfair price for schooling its
children.

Up-Island school committee members also went up against another
public school in their own neighborhood, charging that the
state-sanctioned formula for funding the Martha's Vineyard Public
Charter School (based in West Tisbury) was siphoning off too much money
from the region.

Finally, all the talk in West Tisbury about leaving the school
district ended up putting the Chilmark School on a political hot seat.
Vocal members of the West Tisbury finance committee pointed to lagging
enrollment at the Chilmark School and suggested closing down the little
K-5 school to save money.

Chilmark leaders reacted by forming their own task force to
investigate reasons behind low enrollment and to recommend changes such
as a preschool program that could serve as a feeder program for the
kindergarten and first grades.