District sets open houses, QR survey and June 15 interviews for superintendent candidates

The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School Committee advanced its superintendent search on June 1 by approving community open houses for the two finalists, authorizing a QR-code survey to collect public input, and setting public interviews for Monday, June 15 at 5 p.m.

Chair Robert Stephenson outlined the timetable and logistics: the district will host meet-and-greet sessions so community members and students can meet candidates at the three schools, and a QR code distributed at events will let participants submit comments that will be tabulated for the committee to review ahead of interviews. "We're gonna have QR codes where people are gonna be able to put their little info, their 2¢ worth in there, and we'll get all that," Stephenson said.

The committee confirmed that each candidate will give an opening statement and respond to seven public questions prepared in advance; the interviews will be recorded and deliberations will be public. After the committee selects a finalist, it will move to executive session to assign a negotiator and work on contract terms before returning to open session for any required approvals.

Members asked staff to publicize the events on the district website and social platforms; committee members also discussed posting times on school message boards and asked administrators to ensure students and families are notified. The committee emphasized that public feedback via the QR survey will be considered but advised members to weigh submissions with caution because online responses tend to skew toward more vocal negative feedback.

The interviews are scheduled for Monday, June 15 at 5 p.m.; the committee said it will follow open-meeting requirements for deliberations and will schedule any necessary special meetings to finalize a contract.