By Cate Lecuyer
BEVERLY — Two more candidates withdrew from the superintendent search, but the School Committee will go ahead with plans to choose a new leader today from the remaining two finalists.
Mark Kerble, assistant superintendent of Winchester Public Schools, and Marie Galinski, assistant superintendent of Beverly, are the only candidates left from a pool of five finalists for the position.
"It's very frustrating," said School Committee President Annemarie Cesa. The committee named five finalists on Monday, and three dropped out.
"At this point, we're thankful we still have two strong candidates, and the likelihood is one of them will be the next superintendent," Cesa said.
The School Committee intends to name a replacement this afternoon at 4:30 in the Memorial Building conference room, as planned.
The committee was aware that both candidates were finalists in other districts. Vice President Maria Decker was notified Wednesday evening that John O'Connor, superintendent of the Dover, N.H., school district, accepted a position in Tewskbury, and Wayne Woolridge, co-superintendent of School Administrative Unit 29 in New Hampshire, received an offer from his local school board to retain him.
Marie Doyle, superintendent of Carlisle Public Schools, had withdrawn her name on Tuesday because she was "juggling a few final decisions," Decker said.
"We knew there were a lot of openings this year," Cesa said. "I'm glad we moved five names forward and didn't stop with two or three."
The School Committee, with the help of consultants from the New England School Development Council, conducted a nationwide search for the person who will replace Superintendent James Hayes, who's retiring in June. It received 29 applications and interviewed 10 candidates before choosing the finalists.
The committee also held six community focus groups to find out what the public wants in the next district leader.
"We're balancing what their abilities are against what the community wants," Cesa said. "We're using that material, and we've taken to heart what the community has said."
Kerble visited schools and interviewed with the School Committee on Tuesday, while Galinski was scheduled to do the same last night.
Although the pool of candidates is considerably smaller than intended, Cesa pointed out that Beverly has a strong community and a new state-of-the-art high school nearing completion. It's important, she said, that the next superintendent be ready and willing to join the district.
"We want it to be a good fit on both sides," Cesa said. "We want someone that wants to be in Beverly. I don't want to be someone's backup plan."
Staff writer Cate Lecuyer can be reached at clecuyer@salem news.com.
