Whitman-Hanson school board votes Wednesday on a phone-free policy as its superintendent search opens

WHITMAN, Mass. The Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee is set to vote Wednesday night on the draft "WHRSD Cell Phone Free Policy," and members will hear a report from the committee screening candidates in the search for a new superintendent, which opened this month with applications due Dec. 4.

The committee meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the library at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, 600 Franklin St., Whitman. The agenda posts a remote link, tinyurl.com/Whitman-Hanson-SC-Link, and opens and closes the meeting with 15-minute public comment periods.

The phone policy

The phone policy draft comes up for a third reading and a vote, along with updated district policies coded LBC, GBGE, INJDD and GBEE, according to the agenda. The Policy Subcommittee also brings first readings of policies IJL, IJLA and IJLA-R.

The district is writing its own rule while a statewide one waits at the State House. The state Senate passed "An Act to promote student learning and mental health" 38-2 on July 31, 2025. Its text would require every public school or district to adopt a policy barring students from using or keeping a personal electronic device on their person during the school day, including recess, lunch and the time between classes, and would have the state education department write a model policy. The Senate text lets a district allow a device when a student's individualized education program, Section 504 plan or a disability accommodation calls for one, or when a health care provider writes that it is needed to treat a health condition, and it requires at least one way for parents to reach their children during the school day while barring suspension or expulsion as discipline under the policy. The House passed its own version 129-25 on April 8, 2026. The Senate declined to accept the House changes, and the latest action on the bill is the House naming its members to a conference committee on May 20, 2026, the Legislature's bill history shows.

The superintendent search

The district is looking for a superintendent to start a three-year contract on July 1, 2027, at an annual salary of $200,000 to $220,000, depending on experience, according to the search brochure posted with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, which takes the applications. Candidates need a Massachusetts superintendent license, a master's degree and at least 10 years in public education, including classroom teaching and administrative experience.

The timeline in the brochure:

• Dec. 4: application deadline.
• Dec. 8: the Screening Committee meets to select semifinalists.
• Dec. 14 to 16: semifinalist interviews and selection of finalists.
• Dec. 17: the School Committee publicly announces the finalists.
• Jan. 4 to 6, 2027: finalist visits to Whitman-Hanson.
• Jan. 7, 2027: finalist interviews and the vote to appoint.

The brochure lists the committee's selection criteria as fiscal responsibility and strategy, collaborative leadership, transparency and communication, and a student-centered focus. The district enrolled 3,423 students in 2025-2026 and has a fiscal 2027 budget of $66,758,178, it says. The district's search page also posts focus group and community survey results the association collected.

The district's previous superintendent, Jeff Szymaniak, stepped down at the start of 2026 amid backlash over a $1.4 million budget deficit that led to cuts including two dozen paraprofessionals and teachers, and John Marcus stepped in as acting superintendent, Boston 25 News reported in January. Marcus still leads the district, its website shows, and the search brochure lists the top job as held on an interim basis.

Ryan Tressel of Whitman chairs the 10-member School Committee, and TJ Roffey of Hanson is vice chair, the brochure says.

Also on Wednesday's agenda: a presentation from the high school's Key Club and Student Council officers, the student advisory report, an update from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees conference, the Warrant Subcommittee report and approval of the Oct. 7 and Oct. 21 minutes.

Middle school building committee meets Tuesday

The Whitman Middle School Building Committee meets the day before, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in COM Room 201 at the high school. The new Whitman Middle School is being built behind the existing middle school and is expected to open in spring 2027, according to the superintendent search brochure.

The committee may vote on commitments that include Construction Change Order No. 15, purchase orders for technology and for furniture, fixtures and equipment, and Sterling Moving Services, and on invoices from Ai3, CPL and Fontaine (requisition No. 19), plus technology and furniture, fixtures and equipment invoices, the agenda says. The agenda lists no dollar amounts. It also lists a funding update, a report from the owner's project manager, a schedule update and a design and construction update, and sets the next meeting for Tuesday, Dec. 15 or Dec. 22, at 4:30 p.m.

Label: Reported by us.