SAU#6

We’ve heard a lot of the concerns about Claremont’s search for a new school leader and we understand where they’re coming from. In the past, our search committee and our selection committee have been made up of board members, teachers and administrators, and community members. This process has had, to be very frank, mixed results. The past several superintendents that have been selected in this way haven’t been what Claremont has needed.

This year has been an eye-opener for all of us in Claremont. Between the deficit, the budget, the departure of people who were in key roles, it threw the whole district into disarray. But it also clarified what we need in our next superintendent or executive director. We were trying to move quickly and decisively and felt strongly that the way forward was clear: we need someone who can focus on operations and setting Claremont’s schools on the right path. We didn’t need a large committee or a long process to figure that out.

We need someone who has extensive experience in operations, someone who can quickly earn the confidence of the Claremont administrative and educational team, and someone who has the strength to make difficult, strategic decisions while still understanding the ultimate goal: putting our students on a path to success. 

As a board, we probably should have kept the community more informed about the kind of leader we know we need for the short-term future. It was our job to manage our way through our immediate challenges, and we focused the deficit and the budget while the executive search continued in the background. Changes to the school board further complicated the process. Everything has been a moving target, and we should have communicated our goals for leadership to you sooner. 

Now we’re in the selection process. We’ve had eight ninecandidates so far and the application period was extended to Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Several candidates were removed from consideration right away because they lacked the operational experience we know we need. Several others removed themselves from consideration for a variety of reasons.

Executive director/superintendent candidates who have the qualifications we need – 5+ years of experience as an assistant superintendent or superintendent, senior-level operations management experience, and experience managing limited budgets – are not easy to find. That pool becomes even more shallow when you consider the news around Claremont’s deficit and geographically where we are. We are moving quickly to interview the remaining candidates we feel can achieve all these marks and more.

We are working to make sure important information gets shared to you sooner than later, including the next steps in our search.