Cooperative Middle School principal finalists rejected by School Board. Search continues.
EXETER — The search for a new principal at the Cooperative Middle School is continuing after the School Board opted not to select either of the two finalists for the position.
The Exeter Region Cooperative School Board conducted interviews with the two finalists, Russ Kupperstein from Ipswich and Eris Hersey from Hampton, Tuesday night. Hersey is the CMS interim principal.
The board met in nonpublic afterwards and after deliberation, no nomination was made to move forward with the candidates.
"We are especially grateful for our two finalists and the amount of time that they invested in this search," David Ryan, superintendent of schools for SAU 16, said in a prepared statement. "Both are exceptional educators and at the end of any process it always comes down to best fit."
Ryan added, "We wish both candidates the very best in their search for their next position and thank them for their professional approach to this outcome."
Previous story: SAU 16 names two finalists for Cooperative Middle School principal job
Hersey has served as the school's interim principal since July 2021 after the resignation of Patty Wons, who decided to take another job in education.
The extensive search to find a permanent principal began in October 2021. As part of the process, school officials gathered significant community input and feedback.
The two finalists were named last week.
Hersey told the board Wednesday that she wanted to stay on at CMS. Prior to this role, she spent 10 years at Idlehurst Elementary School in Somersworth as assistant principal before taking the role of principal in 2015 and was named 2020 N.H. Elementary Principal of the Year.
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Kupperstein is currently serving in his first year as the secondary principal at Colegio Maya, the American School of Guatemala, after serving in the same capacity for two years at the International School of Ouagadougou.
In a statement released by SAU 16, school officials said they plan to bring forward a "revised recruitment process with the intent of identifying the ideal fit in the best interest of CMS and the community."
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More information on the modified search process will be made available in the coming weeks, the district's statement announced.
Ryan said Hersey's contract is through June 30, 2022, "and we are happy that she will remain in her interim role with us until that time.”
Cooperative Middle School, part of SAU 16, in Stratham, was originally built in 1998 and serves students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade from Brentwood, Exeter, East Kingston, Kensington, Newfields and Stratham.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Stratham NH Cooperative Middle School principal finalists rejected
