This Isn’t How a Superintendent Search Should Happen (UPDATED)

Kathleen Sposato
3 hours ago
4 min read

A Superintendent Search… Quietly Decided?

In a small town like Pomfret, transparency shouldn’t be optional. It should be consistent, predictable, and applied equally, ESPECIALLY when decisions impact our schools, our children, and the future leadership of our district.

Unfortunately, that’s NOT what we’re seeing.

A Pattern of Selective Posting

Our town has a system in place for notifying residents about meetings. Many of us—including myself—are signed up for alerts and routinely receive updates when agendas and minutes are posted to the town’s official website.

And when the town wants visibility, it knows how to use it.

Residents were notified—repeatedly—about:

Bridge information sessions
The proposed solar array
Road maintenance Zoom meetings

Yet somehow, when it comes to a special meeting involving three boards—the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Board of Education—there was no clear, visible posting on the town’s official website.

Let that sink in.

An even bigger issue, I just spoke to one of our THREE Selectmen who were not even notified of this meeting taking place this evening! WHAT?!?!

A “Pop-Up” Meeting With Big Implications

This special meeting wasn’t just routine business. It was called because the Board of Education failed to properly discuss and vote on forming a search committee for a new superintendent during last week’s regular meeting.

Instead of correcting that through a transparent, deliberative process, what followed raised serious concerns:

A meeting notice and agenda were sent privately via email to the Board of Education members
The meeting was scheduled quickly, via Zoom
The purpose: to vote on a pre-appointed search committee

There was no meaningful discussion, no open vetting of candidates for the committee, and no clear effort to ensure the public could easily find or participate in the process.

Who Gets a Seat at the Table?

Equally concerning is who was selected—and who wasn’t.

The proposed search committee includes members who:

Have missed multiple meetings
Were absent for the critical budget vote
Have made little to no progress on key projects, like the long-delayed playground

Meanwhile, it excludes:

Board members with children currently in the school system
Members who consistently attend meetings and actively contribute

That’s not just questionable judgment—it’s a governance issue.

Where Was the Public Notice?

When the superintendent stated that the meeting had been “posted,” I did what any engaged resident would do: I checked the town’s official website.

It wasn’t there. (and at the time of writing this, it's not there...)

And that raises a critical question:

If this is truly a joint meeting of three boards, why wasn’t it posted clearly and consistently across the same channels used for every other major town issue?

Why did:

A solar project get widespread notice
Road work meetings trigger alerts
But a superintendent search—a decision that shapes the future of our schools—does not?

Why This Matters

This isn’t about one meeting.

It’s about a growing pattern:

Selective transparency
Inconsistent processes
Decisions being advanced without full discussion or public visibility

When residents can’t rely on where or how meetings are posted, public participation suffers.

And when public participation suffers, accountability does too.

The Questions That Need Answers

Why are meeting notices not posted uniformly across all boards?
Why are some meetings widely publicized while others are effectively hidden?
Who decides what the public gets to see—and what they don’t?
Why wasn’t there a proper discussion and vote before appointing a search committee?

Parents—and Taxpayers—Should Be Paying Attention

The search for a new superintendent is one of the most important decisions a school district can make. It deserves:

Full transparency
Open discussion
Meaningful public access

Anything less should concern every parent, every taxpayer, and every resident in Pomfret.

Because if this process is happening quietly now… what else is?

Pomfret Deserves Better

Transparency isn’t a courtesy—it’s a responsibility.

And right now, Pomfret residents are left asking a simple question:

Why does transparency seem to depend on who wants the public to see it?

**EMAIL I SENT TO THE FULL BOARD & ADMIN THE DAY AFTER THE MEETING WITH MY CONCERNS FOR THE WAY THIS IS BEING HANDLED**

**EMAIL FULL BOARD RECEIVED AFTER MY EMAIL (WHICH WAS NOT RESPONDED TO)**

**AGENDA EMAILED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ON MARCH 27, 2026**

**EMAIL FROM SUPERINTENDENT ASKING IF NOTICE WAS SHARED BY THE TOWN OF POMFRET THE AFTERNOON BEFORE THE SCHEDULED MEETING**

**THE FIRST RESPONSE TO MIKE'S EMAIL - FROM ME - NOTING THAT IT WAS NOT ON THE TOWN'S WEBSITE (I CHECKED TO VERIFY BEFORE RESPONDING)**

**WITHIN AN HOUR, THE CHAIR CHIMES IN TO VERIFY POSTING**

**EMAIL FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT STATING THE TOWN ALLEGEDLY POSTED THE AGENDA**

**BOARD MEMBER CONFUSED AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE LEGALLY STILL MEETING**

**MY QUESTION REGARDING WHERE THIS IS "POSTED"**

**RESPONSE FROM THE CHAIR THAT THE MEETING WILL STILL GO ON DESPITE THE BOARD MEMBER BEING UNABLE TO LOCATE IT ON THE TOWN'S WEBSITE**

UPDATE:

Since publishing this blog, the Board of Education decided to postpone the meeting originally scheduled for this evening until Thursday, April 2nd, at 6:30 PM, after it was brought to their attention that the original posting was signaling a joint meeting of all 3 boards, which was never noticed by either of the other 2 boards in the required 24 hours. They have confirmed that a printout of the agenda on a physical corkboard at the Town Hall is considered sufficient notice for the town, despite most other meetings and notices going up on the town's website and being pushed via email notifications to citizens who subscribe to town updates. Why not the Board of Education's agendas and meeting notices? Why are we settling for the bare minimum here? I will reiterate, an informational meeting about a proposed solar array project in the infancy stage shouldn't get more attention than who we are to hire as essentially the "CEO" for our $12+ Million budget!