Peter Haviland appointed assistant superintendent for North Attleborough Public Schools

The North Attleborough School Committee voted to approve the appointment of Peter Haviland as assistant superintendent of North Attleborough Public Schools and authorized an unnamed official to negotiate his contract on the committee's behalf.

Committee attention focused on Haviland's record as principal of North Attleborough High School, where speakers credited him with leading a multi-year turnaround after the school faced an accreditation threat. A recommending official said, "I'm thrilled to recommend, our current high school principal, Peter Haviland, to replace Michelle and be our next assistant superintendent." That official added Haviland had "vast experience" and described the high school's improvement as "truly transformational."

Haviland, identified in the meeting as the high school principal, responded that he remained committed to the district. "I believe so much in this town, and this school and this district and, the opportunity to pursue the job," he said, and added he could "deliver a lot to the entire district, and the community in the role of assistant superintendent."

A committee member raised a common concern about internal hires, saying, "I'm always concerned when we have internal candidates that there's some perception that we had some sort of favoritism," and noted the committee approached the search with an open mind.

The motion presented to the committee was: "I'd be looking for a motion to approve the appointment of Peter Haviland as the assistant superintendent of schools in North Attleboro and to authorize me to negotiate his contract on behalf of the school committee." After a motion and second (not specified in the record), the committee recorded the result as "5 0 and 1," which the meeting speaker characterized at the time as the committee's tally; the meeting concluded with congratulations to Haviland.

The appointment moves a current building-level leader into a districtwide administrative role; the record does not specify an effective date for Haviland's start as assistant superintendent, the identity or role of "Michelle" beyond the first name used in the meeting, or the exact terms of the contract to be negotiated.