The Barrington School Committee voted to appoint Mister Mitchell as the district's interim superintendent and authorized legal counsel to negotiate an employment contract, the committee announced at its Sept. 11 meeting.

Committee members described a compact search process: the district received about 15 responses to the interim-superintendent posting, narrowed candidates to six, convened a diverse subcommittee of about 16–17 stakeholders and produced two finalists with "overwhelming support," the chair said. "It was about 3 weeks that we pulled all this together," a committee member summarized.

Committee discussion emphasized experience with Rhode Island education and the ability to serve as a transitional leader who can prepare the district for a permanent hire. One committee member noted that Mister Mitchell's ties to state-level education leadership were "a huge" asset; the transcript records the remark that he "is a current board member of the Rhode Island Board of Education." The committee thanked the other finalist, Doctor Abar, for entering the process and expressed appreciation for both candidates.

A motion to appoint Mister Mitchell as interim superintendent passed; committee members then moved to authorize legal counsel to develop and negotiate a contract with Mitchell, with the understanding that any final contract will return to the committee for approval.

The committee did not record a roll-call vote in the public transcript and did not provide a signed contract at the meeting. The chair asked district staff to work with counsel to prepare contract terms and to message both finalists about the outcome.