Mashby committee advances superintendent search and appoints Dr. Pam Gold as interim assistant superintendent

The Mashby School Committee on Jan. 8 advanced plans for finalist site visits and public forums as part of its permanent superintendent search and approved the hiring of Dr. Pam Gold as interim assistant superintendent.

Search schedule and site visits: Committee members said initial candidate interviews have been conducted and remaining finalist interviews are tentatively set for Jan. 15-17 and Jan. 22, with possible votes to follow the finalist visits (committee discussed Jan. 29 as a fallback vote date). The committee debated walk-through logistics, recommending that no more than two committee members join building tours (to avoid intimidating finalists and to comply with open-meeting considerations) and proposed using Google feedback forms so staff, students and members of the public can submit impressions that will be shared with the committee.

Appointment: Interim Superintendent Dr. Thompson recommended Dr. Pam Gold ("Dr. G") as interim assistant superintendent; the committee moved, seconded and approved the appointment. Dr. Thompson said Dr. Gold is recently retired, will be a daily employee paid for days worked, does not require benefits, and would begin overlap with current staff with a projected start of Jan. 21. The transcript records recorded "yes" votes from present members.

Next steps: The committee will finalize site-visit schedules with principals and the search consultant, collect structured feedback from staff and community participants via a feedback form, and proceed with finalist public forums and interviews on the scheduled dates.