WESTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Regional School District is moving closer to finding a new superintendent to replace Craig Jurgensen, who is retiring in June after nearly a decade as the district’s superintendent.
The job has been posted on numerous websites with an application deadline of Feb. 1, according to consultant and former Granby superintendent Francis Gougeon. He said the salary is competitive and subject to negotiation. The state deadline is set for July 1.
The Hampshire Regional School District, which includes the William E. Norris School in Southampton, Westhampton Elementary School and Hampshire Regional High School, is broken up into four single-school elementary districts and one secondary school district. The superintendent is responsible for five schools, which total 1,689 students and 250 staff members and have an overall budget of $23.2 million.
Gougeon expects to have two or three finalists chosen by April. But with five separate school districts involved, how school committees will vote on the finalists is not yet determined.
“For me, it’s a very usual situation,” Gougeon said, adding that he typically deals with one school committee voting on a candidate rather than five different committees.
A 19-member search committee made up of principals, a school committee member from each of the five school districts, representatives to the district towns, parents and other stakeholders will interview applicants and pick the top candidates for the position.
A forum was held in November and a survey is available online for the next few weeks to gather input from residents, Gougeon said.
For more information on the search, visit the Hampshire Regional School District website at www.hr-k12.org.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.