HANSON — Oct. 7, 2026 — The Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee last Wednesday unanimously approved a 13-member screening committee for its superintendent search, requiring that the parent or community seats and the two school committee seats be split between Whitman and Hanson. Before the vote, members questioned whether the chair and vice chair alone should recommend who fills it, and the chair proposed widening that review to four members.
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The approved panel has three staff members, two parents or community members, two administrators, two students, one member each from the WHEA and the SEPAC, and two school committee members. The motion added the per-town split, which Chair Ryan Tressel said had been the intent but was not written into the proposal.
The district’s search consultant from MASC recommended an odd number to avoid tie votes and considered a panel larger than 13 too overwhelming, Tressel said. Saying a school committee’s chair typically serves on the panel, the chair proposed taking one school committee seat as both chair and Whitman representative, and called the five school committee members on the last search’s panel excessive.
The sharper debate was over who chooses the 13. Under the plan presented, the Superintendent Search Liaison Subcommittee — the chair and vice chair — would review applications and bring a slate that the full committee could approve or reject. Hillary Kniffen said that left the rest of the committee without a real say.
My concern is it’s going to look like things are happening in a vacuum and even though yes we voted on it I would like to see who all the candidates are
—Hillary Kniffen, School Committee 44:32
She suggested a blind, numbered review of applicants. Tressel said 41 people had applied, argued there is value in seeing names, and said volunteers, who cannot be discussed in executive session, should not be picked apart in public.
After a motion to add two members to the subcommittee, Tressel said the four would meet the following Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a public, recorded session and bring a slate to the next meeting. He agreed to share every application with the full committee before then but said the slate cannot be amended by the full committee, only voted up or down.
Members also split on student seats. Glen DiGravio noted that most comparison districts include one student or none and called parents and taxpayers the true stakeholders; Chris Marks cited students who spoke passionately at earlier meetings preceding last years mid-year layoffs.
Marks suggested adding a town representative, as Andover had. Tressel argued against it, saying the school committee is a co-equal elected body that the towns sometimes treat as junior varsity.
The superintendent’s update opened with two incidents at Friday night’s football game: a fight among a group of students, and a separate fight between students in which, Superintendent John Marcus said, one of them went after a police officer. A plan developed Monday was reviewed with two town police chiefs, revised, sent to the committee and will be released to the public, the superintendent said.
Under the plan, both entrances stay open but the side fields close, so spectators go straight into the stadium. Students may not bring backpacks into the stadium, more adults will be posted around it, and officers who normally stand together on the home side will be split between both sides.
There is no more sort of hanging out or access in the woods area or in those side fields that tend to be a place where kids like to hang out and things go awry.
— Interim Superintendent John Marcus 2:47
The superintendent said three home games remain and the next is Oct. 23.
