Winchendon schools have a new superintendent - what other changes are coming?
With just over a week before the new school year begins for students, the Winchendon School Committee and administration have been working feverishly to make sure that teachers and administrators are in place for when students arrive on Aug. 30.
Karen Kast-McBride, chair of the School Committee, announced to the school community last Wednesday that Dr. Ruthann Petruno-Goguen has been named interim superintendent for the Winchendon School District for the 2023-24 school year. Petruno-Goguen is a retired school superintendent, working most recently in the Webster Public Schools from June 2017 until March 2023.
Kast-McBride said that she thought Petruno-Goguen was an excellent choice.
"She has hit the ground running," Kast-McBride said.
For her work from Aug. 14 until June 30, 2024, Petruno-Goguen will be paid $185,000.
Kast-McBride was clear that Petruno-Goguen was not interested in the permanent position. Kast-McBride said that a a search for a permanent superintendent would be conducted once school was underway and all hires for the year were in place.
Two key hires
Petruno-Goguen started on Aug. 14 and has already made two key hires: interim director of pupil services and Memorial School principal.
Charlotte King, who was previously dean at Toy Town Elementary, has been selected to be the interim director of pupil services.
Kast-McBride said that King had stepped up over the summer to help with certain issues, and she thinks King is an excellent choice for the position. Kast-McBride did not know if King was interested in the permanent position, and indicated that the permanent position had been posted.
Bobbie French has been hired as the interim principal at Memorial Elementary School. French is coming to Winchendon from Holliston, where she has been for the last two years. She has also worked in Fitchburg and Gardner.
Positions still to be filled
As of Friday afternoon, there were four administrative positions to be filled: Middle School principal, Middle School dean, High School assistant principal and High School principal.
Kast-McBride said that Jessica Vezina, the previous middle school principal, had accepted a job in New Hampshire. Vezina, who was popular with parents, was placed on leave in February with no reason given to the public and no notice to parents for several weeks. Vezina, a graduate of Murdock High School, served in the district since 2012. Vezina's LinkedIn page states that she is principal of Hancock Elementary School.
Mary Jane Rickson, principal at the high school, tendered her resignation this week. In an email to families, Petruno-Goguen said that Rickson has agreed to stay on until her replacement has been found.
School Committee update
Following the resignations of Ryan Forsythe and Greg Vine, and the appointment of Anthony Findley to replace Alicia Jordan, Adam LeBlanc was appointed to the School Committee on Aug. 14 at a joint meeting of the School Committee and Board of Selectmen.
That leaves one open seat remaining on the school committee. Kast-McBride said that interested parties should submit a letter of interest to the town manager or town clerk before Sept. 7.
Moving forward
Kast-McBride said that she wanted to thank everyone in the school district who has stayed on to help fix things.
"This school district has been broken for a long time. We're going to fix it, and we're going to do it with transparency," she said. "We're going to shine a light to everything."
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Winchendon schools: Ruthann Petruno-Goguen is interim superintendent
