Officials at the School Committee meeting assured parents they will be involved in the search.
Hazel Rosario, the parent of triplets at Dean Technical High School, says Holyoke parents want to help with the search for a new superintendent.HOLYOKE — The School Committee will begin discussing consultants and other details related to a search for a new superintendent Sept. 10, officials said Monday.
The search will be swift and include parents and others in the community, they said.
The committee also voted to accept a letter from Superintendent David L. Dupont that said he will retire when his three-year contract expires June 30, 2013. The Republican and MassLive.com reported Dupont’s retirement last week.
The discussion at the end of the committee meeting at Dean Technical High School was a mixture of assertions about the need to do the search fast and inclusively, and praise for Dupont, who will work the coming school year.
“I know the committee thanks you for all the hard work you’ve done in your 40 years,” said Devin M. Sheehan, School Committee vice chairman.
“You’ll certainly be missed ...,” said Mayor Alex B. Morse, chairman of the School Committee.
Dupont, in his fourth decade with the system, said he is retiring because he felt it was time. He will be as committed as ever in the coming year, he said.
“Forty years is a good haul and I mean I appreciate everything, including all the kids I taught. ... I got so much support from everyone,” Dupont said.
Dupont’s yearly salary is $144,000. He was previously Holyoke High School principal and a teacher, among other duties in the system.
Parents Hazel Rosario and Mildred Lefebvre said during the meeting’s public comment period that parents want to help with the superintendent search.
“We would like to be part of that,” said Rosario, mother of triplets at Dean.
“We know what are the needs of the district, and the children and the families,” Lefebvre said.
“I can almost guarantee” parents will be involved, Sheehan said.
“No doubt we’ll involve parents every step of the way,” Morse said.
Sheehan will bring information about possible search consultants to the next committee meeting, he said.
Member at Large Michael J. Moriarty said the committee should hire the Massachusetts Association of School Committees for the search, as it did for the process that led to the hiring of Dupont.
Committee member at large Howard B. Greaney Jr. said he agreed with Moriarty about wanting the search to begin immediately, concerned any delay could keep the city from getting the best individual or some other problem.
“I assure you there will be movement at the next meeting on that,” Sheehan said.