Superintendent Maureen Ward says she wants to oversee schools in Franklin and Hill until she retires, despite nearly landing a job in Massachusetts earlier this month. Less than a year after joining SAU 18, Ward was a finalist for a superintendent's job in central Massachusetts, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. A photo of Ward leaning against lockers is included with the March 5 story, which explains that she and the man who was offered the position were selected from a pool of 25 applicants.
Via e-mail yesterday, Ward said she applied for the job but had no plans to leave Franklin. "Why do people who own homes and have no intention of selling go to open houses?" she wrote. "I would like to stay in Franklin until I retire. I would most like to leave Franklin as a performing school with high expectations for both faculty and students.
Ward joined SAU 18 last summer and was charged with improving the district's lagging test scores and mending relations between the district and the community, which had been rocky under the previous superintendent, Jo Ellen Divoll.
Divoll was fired amid a federal civil rights investigation that involved high school students with disabilities. She had also been accused of violating New Hampshire's open meeting law and district policies on nepotism, and parents and staff members had expressed frustration with her leadership.
The school board wanted to attract top-notch candidates, so it increased the advertised salary by $25,000 and assembled a search committee that reviewed applications and interviewed finalists.
The Massachusetts job, in the Spencer-East Brookfield School District, pays between $130,000 and $160,000, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Ward's starting salary in Franklin was $120,000. According to a profile on SAU 18's website, Ward and her husband have family in Massachusetts.
Before coming to Franklin, Ward was the assistant superintendent in Hampton. Earlier in her career, she oversaw schools in Arizona and worked for 28 years in British Columbia as a math teacher and a principal. She holds a doctorate in leadership from Sarasota University.During her interviews in Franklin, Ward described how she hoped to expand the number of hours students receive instruction and to improve communication with the community.
Yesterday, Ward listed some of the changes she's made so far: helping to negotiate contracts with the custodians and teachers, developing a policy manual for the district, helping Franklin High School overhaul its grading system and reassigning staff to "create a better learning environment.""I work literally 24/7 for SAU 18," she said. "Franklin and Hill are terrific districts with dedicated staff."