PALMER – The Palmer School Committee unanimously approved having the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) assist in the superintendent search process.

During the Dec. 14 School Committee meeting, member Tony Braden shared that he recently attended a conference in Worcester to go over School Committee responsibilities as well as superintendent searches.

Braden said for a flat rate of $10,500, MASC will assist a school district in finding a superintendent. He noted that there may be some additional expenses such as gas money and advertising. However, if the committee were to go with a private company, Braden said it would cost upwards of $40,000.
Chairperson Bonny Rathbone explained that MASC would work with them from beginning to end and won’t stop until the job is complete. After talking with Liz Lafond of the MASC, Rathbone said she received clearance to post about an upcoming vacancy on the district’s website.

However the committee decides to go about the search, Rathbone said they do need to work on establishing a search committee.

The School Committee is planning to host a meeting with a representative from MASC during the last week of December. The meeting is open to the public and an official meeting date can be found online at https://www.palmerschools.org/.

School Committee member Erica Nadeau made a motion for the funding of MASC to assist with the superintendent search. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

Vice Chair Sandra Noonan said MASC is “very emphatic” that the School Committee is in charge and “that we maintain the control of our superintendent search committee [and] that we don’t rely only on a consultant but that we are in charge.”

Rathbone asks community members to submit letters of interest for the superintendent search committee to her by Jan. 15 – ahead of the Jan. 18 School Committee meeting. Her email can also be found on the district’s website.

Another motion was made and approved for the School Committee to conduct a search for a new superintendent of schools and will begin the process of soliciting interest from the community.

In the meantime, the School Committee unanimously voted in approval for Colleen Culligan to remain as interim superintendent until a permanent superintendent is found. Culligan said she would be happy to fulfill the position until then.

Given the circumstances, Culligan said the transition period has been smooth and recognized the staff and School Committee for assisting and trusting in her.

EMT course

Palmer High School Principal Susan North informed the School Committee that there has been a change in offering the EMT course in spring 2023.

“The Palmer Ambulance is still going through the process for approval for site training so they will not get that approval before the second semester starts. We are not able to provide that course for our students,” she said.

After brainstorming and coming up with ideas on what can be done, North said an alternative option has been found. She shared that science teachers Jared Haley and David Triozzi created an alternative proposal that offers those 17 students the opportunity to take the EMT course at an offset campus.

“The students who were scheduled to take this would still have the opportunity to take the course,” said North. At the time of the meeting, she shared that they were looking into students taking the course at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC).

“The school would cover the cost of that,” said North. “We would pay for the course, but we would not pay for transportation.”

The EMT course at STCC is set to go from Jan. 24 to May 27. The classes will take place on Saturday’s from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“This course is a hybrid – it’s both online and in person. The cost of the course is $1,099 for each student,” explained North.

She continued, “The students would need to make a very serious commitment that they would start and finish the entire course and then take the state exam to receive their EMT license. If they say that they are able and willing to do that, then we would provide that opportunity for those students.”

At the time of the meeting, North said the students and families were not aware of the change but would be informed the following day.

North went on to say that this also affects the students schedule for the second semester. “The department heads have created a course that will help students move forward in the medical field,” she said. The course is called “Human Diseases Research and Case Study” and it will be taught by Triozzi.

North said approval from the School Committee would be required to offer this course as it is not currently in their program of studies.

The School Committee unanimously approved the offering at STCC and the new course at Palmer High School.

Although the EMT course cannot be offered in Palmer this year, North said they plan on offering it next year.