Matthew D’Andrea came under harsh criticism for overstepping bounds when he granted raises to three staffers without prior approval from the school committee.
It’s been a busy spring for superintendent Dr. Matthew D’Andrea, who has been stumping at town meetings from Edgartown to Aquinnah seeking support for two major capital projects.
His education began in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania, in small towns like Shepton and Port Carbon.
He had come to the smoky mining areas of the state as a young lad from Front Royal, Va., his birthplace, a small resort community nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains. His father was a successful auto mechanic after long military service in the army.
Each of the five traditional public school districts on the Vineyard does its own thing, right down to the toilet paper, schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said in the first of five forums on the state of the schools.
At the recommendation of incoming Vineyard schools superintendent Matthew D’Andrea, the all-Island school committee will ask Richard Smith to replace Mr. D’Andrea as assistant superintendent.
The all-Island school committee voted to name assistant superintendent Matthew D’Andrea as the next superintendent after a discussion that saw support for both Mr. D’Andrea and Oak Bluffs principal Richard Smith.
In interviews, two final candidates for Vineyard schools superintendent talked about their career tracks, the challenges that lie ahead for the widely disparate public school system on the Island and how they would address them.
Oak Bluffs School principal Richard Smith and assistant superintendent Matthew D’Andrea have been named as finalists in the search for the next superintendent. They will both be interviewed by the all-Island school committee this week; interviews are open to the public.
The all-Island school committee has begun its search to replace Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss, who will retire at the end of this school year.
