[0:00] Good evening, and welcome to our special meeting for Monday, March 31st, 2025. I'd like to call

[0:11] this meeting to order, and we'll begin with roll call. Bridget Cronin, here, Alicia Johnson,

[0:17] here, Sarah Julie, here, Emily Martin, here, Laurel Reagan, here, and Leslie Zammer, here.

[0:25] Thank you. Tonight we have one item under new business. We will not be taking public comment

[0:31] on this item because it is a personnel matter. With that, can I have a motion to approve the

[0:37] hiring of Steve Nolan as superintendent of schools beginning July 1st, 2025? Thank you,

[0:44] Alicia. And a second, thank you, Leslie. Before I open this up for discussion, I'd like to welcome

[0:50] and acknowledge Steve, who's in attendance with us this evening. This motion is voted on,

[0:57] approve Steve's hiring as our next superintendent with a three-year contract beginning July 1st,

[1:03] 2025. With that, I'll open the floor to board discussion.

[1:07] I have a prepared statement. I grew up with Falmouth, and I came back with my family. I have been here

[1:24] and aware of many iterations of superintendent stewardship in our schools, and this is the

[1:32] first one that I've been directly involved in, and it's a really big deal. So it is with full

[1:38] fledged enthusiasm and an informed glimpse of the future of family public schools that I proudly

[1:44] vote to appoint Steve Nolan as the superintendent of family schools starting July 1st, 2025.

[1:51] It has already been widely communicated by the board, the incredible depth of experience Mr.

[1:56] Nolan has over 10 years as superintendent in a complex main district, RSU-40. Over 10 years as an

[2:04] assistant principal and principal of Lincoln Middle School just down the road in Portland,

[2:08] as well as 10 years as a math teacher. Mr. Nolan is clearly committed to public education

[2:16] excellence. His depth and breadth of experience speaks to that, as does his significant knowledge

[2:21] of main law and the main department of education. The results he has achieved in all phases of his

[2:27] career speak to his vision, his fortitude, and the deep responsibility he feels to all students.

[2:36] This vote, I'd like to take a little bit of my preamble,

[2:41] kind of touched on how important I think this decision is. This vote is perhaps the

[2:48] most important vote any school board member can make. For this board, it is also the culmination

[2:54] of lots of transparent and thorough work by the Falmouth School Board, especially by our chair

[2:58] of the superintendent's search, Alicia Johnson. In coordination with Dave Durasi at the New England

[3:05] School Development Council, also known as Men's Deck, the board developed a survey that

[3:10] nearly 375 stakeholders completed, executed multiple focus groups for Falmouth citizens to

[3:17] give further input and a separate focus group for staff in which a wide variety of Falmouth

[3:23] School staff participated. All of that effort generated significant feedback that informed

[3:28] both the candidate profile as well as the secondary document tasks and challenges in year one.

[3:34] These documents guided the screening committee's task of narrowing down the applicant pool

[3:39] to the candidates put forward to the board to interview and complete

[3:44] extensive reference tasks. The screening committee was composed of 10 individuals of varying

[3:49] degrees of involvement in our schools and broader community. Six of the members are residents of

[3:54] Falmouth and parents and grandparents of Falmouth students. The board then used these documents

[4:00] as a rubric of sorts when evaluating the finalists. Our community has greatly

[4:05] informed this process and for that I'm not only grateful but confident in her choice we

[4:10] are making tonight. While the under review process is confidential I would like to share

[4:15] with folks when they watch this a few of my observations and impressions of Mr. Nolan,

[4:21] that's okay. He's a highly organized leader and articulated and informed leader with

[4:26] strong clear communication skills and an individual who understands the value of

[4:31] strong leadership. However I would also guess that he has the confidence to let

[4:36] actions speak louder than words when appropriate. I look forward to getting Mr.

[4:42] to know Mr. Nolan further and working together but more importantly I look forward to our community

[4:47] meeting him and vice versa. Welcome to Falmouth School State. I'm very optimistic about your

[4:52] future with us in the next phase of our schools. Thank you for joining us.

[5:01] I may repeat a little what Emily said but hopefully not so much.

[5:06] First I would like to thank Alicia for her time and effort spearheading the superintendent

[5:10] search process. She worked tirelessly and compressed time frame to facilitate the search

[5:15] in an organized thoughtful and streamlined manner. Alicia I really appreciate all your

[5:20] hard work. This was an important job and our schools and community will reap the benefits

[5:24] from your very deliberate and professional process. Second I want to thank our community

[5:31] students, parents, staff and other community members for their involvement in the search

[5:34] process. The community's feedback regarding attributes necessary for superintendent success

[5:40] collected through focus groups and surveys was the basis for the successful candidate profile.

[5:45] This profile was my point of reference for evaluating our superintendent candidates.

[5:49] I constantly refer to the four categories of expertise highlighted educational leadership,

[5:56] engaged communicator, collaborative leadership practitioner, and experienced operations and

[6:00] management leader. Steve Nolan meets each and every one of these requirements. Steve as Emily

[6:06] mentioned, Steve spent a decade as a math teacher, a decade as a middle school administrator,

[6:11] and most recently a decade as a superintendent. The long tenure at his previous districts

[6:16] highlights the deep commitment Steve demonstrates to the communities he serves.

[6:20] Steve's previous classroom experiences help him understand the day-to-day challenges

[6:25] and opportunities our teachers and administrators encounter. Having a superintendent with this

[6:30] experience is invaluable for both decision-making as well as relationship building. Steve's

[6:35] steady demeanor and thoughtful, collaborative, data-driven approach to decision-making is

[6:39] an asset I very much appreciate. Steve is the right person to build on our district's

[6:44] strong foundation and lead us as we strive for constant improvement and I'm very excited

[6:49] to welcome Steve Nolan as now it's next superintendent. Welcome.

[6:58] I too am looking forward to voting in support of hiring Steve Nolan as superintendent of our

[7:03] schools. I believe Steve's depth of experience in the role of superintendent will serve our

[7:08] community well. While Steve's career has been dedicated to students coast to coast,

[7:12] the majority of it has been committed to main students as a teacher through building principal

[7:18] through superintendent. Given that and Steve's even temperament and diligent nature, I believe

[7:23] Steve will easily transition into family schools and be able to get right to work with the

[7:28] myriad of leaders we have in this district aligned under the common goal to deliver

[7:33] an excellent public education to our students setting them up for the fulfilling lives of

[7:37] their futures. I'd also like to thank Alicia, NASDEC and our screening committee for

[7:42] committing to a professional process that did not sacrifice quality for neither speed nor

[7:47] transparency and I'm happy to be concluding the process with the best fit for Falmouth. Welcome.

[7:58] The role to be voting in support of Steve Nolan as Falmouth's new superintendent of schools.

[8:03] Steve has a vision for education and the leadership skills to carry out that vision.

[8:09] This includes deep listening, a collaborative approach and a proven track record of

[8:13] educational excellence. In addition, Steve stands behind equitable and inclusive practices

[8:19] with deep consideration for all students in the district. I'm looking forward to his tenure.

[8:25] Welcome. Thank you, Sarah.

[8:31] I am also enthusiastic and optimistic about voting for Steve Nolan as our next superintendent

[8:38] of Falmouth schools. I believe this is a truly community-wide intergenerational effort

[8:45] and process put forth by Alicia. I feel like it does represent the majority of our community

[8:51] and I appreciate everyone's input and thorough communication with answers to

[8:58] different questionnaires and participating in the various outlets that Alicia provided.

[9:03] I'm enthusiastic also about Steve's wealth of experience. Everything from his collective

[9:09] bargaining to budget process are things I'm eager to learn from and with around these things.

[9:16] I think he'll be a tremendous mentor and work with developing our in-house talent that we

[9:21] have so much of already in the district as we continue to evolve and grow.

[9:27] These are his words, not mine, but he prioritizes growth, innovation, and excellence in education,

[9:34] which I think is exactly what Falmouth needs. So I, as a former yachtsman, now navigator,

[9:42] so excited to welcome you to the district. Best of luck.

[9:48] Thank you. I am also really excited to vote tonight to appoint Steve as our next superintendent

[9:59] of Falmouth schools. This board took this job very seriously and demanded a transparent process,

[10:07] which I think we did provide that always included our community and let them know where we were

[10:14] each step of the way. And so I want to thank my colleagues for your diligent work because you guys

[10:19] did do a lot of diligent research and thought-provoking questions and things along the way. And I also

[10:28] want to give a big shout out to the screening committee who did the hard work of screening

[10:33] our candidates who we had excellent candidates and Mr. Nolan rose to the top.

[10:39] And so I believe his experience in starting out as a teacher and then as an administrator,

[10:46] and now as a superintendent, has made him thoroughly prepared for your next

[10:52] school here at Falmouth schools, the mastery, your mastery of main school budgets, laws,

[10:59] and policies, your collaborative leadership. And most importantly, I think your

[11:05] goal of always putting students first is what makes you the perfect fit for our schools here.

[11:13] And your resume and leadership style match exactly what our community, as many have said,

[11:20] hundreds of people who filled out our survey and participated in our focus groups,

[11:25] it matches who they've asked us to bring forward in a candidate. And so I'm really

[11:30] excited for them to get to know you and for this school board to work alongside you

[11:35] to continue the good work of this school district. Thank you.

[11:40] Thanks, Alicia. And I'm just going to echo all the words of excitement and optimism

[11:46] for our next superintendent, Stephen Nolan. I want to extend my deep appreciation to

[11:51] Alicia Johnson for her steadfast leadership as our superintendent's search liaison.

[11:57] And also a thank you to Leslie Zammer for her work alongside Alicia as part of the selection

[12:02] hiring committee. Working with our consultants at NASDAQ over these last three months have

[12:07] produced a process where we as a community were able to take abundant community feedback in the

[12:13] form of surveys and Zoom meetings and with the community develop a vision for what Falmouth

[12:19] is looking for in our next superintendent. We are so fortunate that the selection committee

[12:25] had a great group of applicants to choose from that they approached this task with great dedication

[12:31] and that they delivered Steve as a finalist for the full board to interview for this most important

[12:36] job. I have great confidence that Steve with his exceptional educational background,

[12:41] which includes classroom teaching, building administration and central office experience

[12:47] and who is so well respected by his teachers, by students, by parents and community members

[12:53] of the five towns he leads, I am confident that he will continue and create here and

[12:59] prioritize and execute a long-term plan that brings consistency in practices, services,

[13:05] resources and academic supports across the entire district. Steve has demonstrated in his

[13:12] years at RSU 40 that he is an effective communicator and has a collaborative approach to work with

[13:18] all involved in the schools and in our greater community and he is developing the relationships

[13:23] needed to support all students improvement in the district. We're lucky to have him as our next

[13:29] leader of leaders and I'm honored in the capacity of the Falmouth school board member to cast my

[13:34] vote for him this evening. And with that we'll close for discussion on this matter and I'll

[13:41] call for the vote. All those in favor of approving Steve Nolan as our next superintendent

[13:47] of schools. The vote carries 7-0. Thank you and congratulations to Mr. Nolan.

[14:09] Steve, since you drove all the way here for what 13 minute vote would you like to offer a few

[14:16] comments to the board?

[14:22] Well thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words. I think what I want to talk about the most

[14:29] is how much I appreciate the thorough and thoughtful search process. I was impressed from the

[14:37] beginning by the feedback from the focus groups, the representative panel you put together

[14:44] for the interview process, the opportunity to tour the schools, a chance to meet with the

[14:49] administrative team and of course our meaningful discussion. This experience for me, I think

[15:00] Reflects the excellence that I see in this organization, and I'm really excited to work together with you to do the best for our students and to build on the success of foundless schools, so thank you again very much, go NAFs.

[15:18] Thank you Steve, we all look forward to working with you.

[15:26] And with that, can I have a motion to adjourn? Thank you Bridget, and as I can, thank you Emily, all those in favor, motion carries 7-0, we are adjourned, thank you and good night.

2025.03.31 School Board Special Meeting

Transcript