The School Committee on Thursday discussed plans to search for a new superintendent in the wake of Carol Cavanaugh’s impending retirement in June 2025.

Members also addressed possible changes to the school calendar and the process they should undertake to gauge public opinion.

Chair Nancy Cavanaugh said hiring a superintendent is one of the School Committee’s “biggest duties. Unlike other positions, we are the deciding body.”

She said she reviewed the last four search processes, with emphasis on the 2016 search when Carol Cavanaugh was hired.

The process took 3 1/2 months that time.

Nancy Cavanaugh said the committee had used the services of consultant NESDEC, and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) is another resource. She will bring three proposals forward before the next meeting for members to consider.

“They help guide us in the process, but we are the driving force,” the chair said of the consultant.

She explained a screening committee generally sorts through resumes, recommending three or four finalists for them to interview.

Site visits, tours of Hopkinton schools, a community forum and School Committee interviews all are part of the process, Nancy Cavanaugh said.

The last time, the screening committee had 15 members, with the School Committee representative serving as chair. Members included a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) representative, community members, teachers, a secondary and elementary school principal, and individuals from groups like the Hopkinton Parent Teacher Organization (HPTO).

Past searches resulted in three superintendents who were short-term and Carol Cavanaugh, who stayed longer, Nancy Cavanaugh added.

If the committee starts the search in December, she said, the district could hire someone in March or April.

The cost for NESDEC in 2017 was $9,000.

“Search firms cast a broader net nationally,” the chair said.

Calendar survey requested

Revisiting the topic of the school calendar, non-federal holiday observances were brought up.

Committee member Kyla McSweeney said she thought repeating a community survey would not bring about “wildly different results.” She said the calendar should reflect the values of the town and allow everyone to “see themselves.”

Committee member Chris Masters spoke in favor of repeating the survey if there is time to do so.

Nancy Cavanaugh said the survey is “not a stand-alone process,” and it has taken a few months historically.

Carol Cavanaugh said families are interested in knowing the calendar at this time of year because they are looking at summer camps and other plans.

“Anecdotally,” Masters said, he has noticed a “very split reaction” from the public. “It’s worthwhile to give everyone the opportunity to give feedback and voice their opinion.”

Masters recommended editing the survey and sending it to families quickly.

Nancy Cavanaugh said she would not want to “short cut” the process. In the past, she said, religious leaders came in to speak about why certain observances are important to them.

“Let the results of the survey steer where we go from here,” Masters suggested.

The superintendent noted that the last survey for the 2021-22 calendar had 1,490 responses. Surveys are kept open for 10-14 days, she said.

At the last meeting, committee member Susan Stephenson asked about consolidating or shortening the two school vacations to make the last day of school earlier.

Currently, it is set for June 18.

McSweeney suggested putting a question on the survey about the two-vacation issue.

No matter what decision is made on this calendar, Nancy Cavanaugh said, “there is value to having a larger community conversation over the summer” regarding future calendar cycles.

“No matter what we do, we are going to generate some happy people and some very angry people for reasons that all of us can understand,” Nancy Cavanaugh said.

Vice chair Jamie Wronka said she saw no downside to sending out a survey so long as its intentions are clear, “so [people] don’t think if 53% want removal of everything, that will be the case.”

Working collaboratively with a subcommittee (in the future) would be a benefit, Wronka said.

The committee ultimately voted to send out a survey as a starting point.

Carol Cavanaugh said her office would do so after Thanksgiving so that it could get the full attention by families it deserves.