Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Feb. 3

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Friday, Feb. 3. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Winter: For the first time all week, Friday will actually feel winter-like. The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature in the mid-30s. 2. Patton Advisory Committee: Friday is the final day for Hamilton residents to express their interest in being named to the Patton Family Gift Advisory Committee. There are three open at-large spots on the committee and as of earlier this week there were eight residents who were interested. An application should be submitted to Hamilton Town Hall and the Board of Selectmen are scheduled to decide on the at-large committee members on Monday night. 3. Buchanan: Friday is officially former school Superintendent Raleigh …

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New Interview Dates Set for Superintendent Candidate Gray

The public interview schedule has been revamped for faculty, parents and community members to interview school superintendent Peter Gray.

The School Superintendent Search Committee is still on track to make a recommendation to the School Committee in February about whether to hire Peter Gray as the new superintendent for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. But before that, some of the public interview dates - originally scheduled for early January - have been postponed. The interview timeline for Gray, who has served as the interim superintendent since last May, has been pushed back. The changes were announced on Friday by School Committee Chairman Alexa McCloughan, Vice-chairman Roger Kuebel and Glenn Koocher of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, who is serving as a consultant to the committee as a "qualified third party" to "provide guidance and …

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Public Interviews Set with Internal Superintendent Candidate

Peter Gray, the interim superintendent of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District since early summer, will be interviewed by various stakeholders in early January for the permanent job.

Six public interviews have been set up for early January for community members to hear from Peter Gray, the interim school superintendent who is seeking the job permanently. In a written announcement issued on Tuesday, the 14-member Superintendent Search Committee for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District said that various “stakeholders” are invited to take part in the interviews with Gray and provide the committee with feedback. The committee is at first interviewing Gray before deciding whether to recommend that the search should be opened up to outside applicants. The committee plans to have its review of Gray completed by the end of January and will report back to the School Committee in February. The Search Committee has …

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Buchanan To Be Paid $115K After 'Irreconcilable Differences'

Dr. Raleigh Buchanan, the former Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Superintendent, will be paid $115,000 in pay and accrued time off through February to end his tenure as superintendent.

Former School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan will be paid $115,000 in salary and benefits through February as part of his exit from the school district last month because of “irreconcilable differences.” The three-page agreement between Buchanan and the School Committee was signed on May 27 and released after the School Committee voted to approve it on Thursday night. The total compensation includes $93,000 in pay, according to Committee member Kym Donnellan, plus 16 accrued unused vacation, sick and personal time plus the value of health insurance benefits. The agreement also calls for Buchanan to be available to consult the district through the end of June, although he is not prevented from seeking another job starting June 1. He “…

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: June 9

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Thursday, June 9. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: Thursday will bring the hottest and most humid weather of the summer to date. There’s also a chance of thundershowers on Thursday afternoon and if any of those storms in the area of Hamilton and Wenham are reportedly severe, we will let you know on Patch. 2. Snow: Four months ago, we had just finished shoveling off the roofs of all five schools after feet and feet of snow accumulated. Think about that as you sweat on Thursday. 3. Talbots: The red front door at Talbot's in downtown Hamilton may be on the way out. CEO Trudy Sullivan told Boston Magazine in a recent story that the stores will get a makeover and the “iconic” will be eliminated, to be replaced with a …

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Selectmen Look to Improve Communication with Schools After 'Jarring' Departure

Selectmen from both towns met on Tuesday for the first time since School Superintendent Raleigh Buchanan's departure as school superintendent last Thursday.

There may be lessons from the recent departure of School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan that could lead to change in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District agreement, according to Selectmen and town attorneys. Some of those changes were discussed when the Boards of Selectmen from both towns met on Tuesday night for the first time since Buchanan’s departure last Thursday. One of the chief concerns Selectmen had was that they didn’t understand the extent of the School Committee’s concern with Buchanan’s performance until he reached a “mutual agreement” to leave the district last Thursday. Wenham Selectmen Chairman Molly Martins called Buchanan’s departure “jarring.” “I don’t believe there is a communication clause in the …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: May 24

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Tuesday, May 24. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: Warm air will arrive on Tuesday, with temperatures forecasted into the mid-70s.  Unfortunately, some clouds, fog and showers will still be sticking around too. 2. Pingree Open House: Do you have a middle schooler who may be thinking about attending a private high school? There’s a chance for seventh graders to get a look at Pingree School on Tuesday night at an open house for seventh graders. It begins at 7 p.m. at the Highland Street school. 3. Hamilton Planning Board: The proposed senior housing development at Canter Brook Equestrian Center in Hamilton will continue to undergo review on Tuesday night at the Hamilton Planning Board meeting, which starts at 7:30 p…

School Committee: Buchanan's Evaluations Not Discussed in Executive Session

The Hamilton-Wenham School Committee released a statement on Monday saying that last Thursday's executive session was at the request of Dr. Raleigh Buchanan to review his superintendent's contract and did not involve discussion of his performance.

The performance evaluations of former School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan were not discussed during the School Committee’s nearly two-hour long executive session last Thursday, the board said in a written statement issued Monday morning. Instead, the executive session was held at the request of Buchanan and his attorney, who sought to discuss his contract. Michael Long, Buchanan's attorney, asked for the executive session three hours before the 7 p.m. meeting last Thursday, the committee said in the statement. When the School Committee emerged from the executive session, committee attorney Naomi Stonberg announced that Buchanan’s “employment relationship” with the district had ended after a “mutual agreement.” “While the minutes of …

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Questionable Ethics

3:42 am on Monday, May 30, 2011

Eh wot? How did I get dragged into this?? If you are me, and I am Jay, then Jay must be arguing with himself again! The *real* QE.   more ›

Week in Review

Top Five Local Stories Last Week

The week in review, looking back at the top five stories in Hamilton and Wenham in the past week.

Here's a look at the top five local stories in Hamilton and Wenham in the past week. 1. Dr. Buchanan Out as School Superintendent This story could take all five “top story” spots in the past week – the “mutual agreement” that School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan reached with the School Committee. It has generated an unprecedented amount of interest, while many questions still remain. The agreement was reached on Thursday night after a nearly two-hour long executive session that Buchanan entered with the School Committee but did not return to the meeting. 2. Martins Reelected Wenham Selectmen Chairman Molly Martins, who became chairman of the Wenham Board of Selectmen days after being elected to the board for the first time last year…

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School Committee 'Lost Confidence in Dr. Buchanan’s Ability to Lead'

The performance evaluations of former School Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan shed light of the School Committee's concerns about Buchanan, who started on the job last July.

A majority of the School Committee expressed serious concerns about Dr. Raleigh Buchan’s job performance – ranging from his ability to meet deadlines to his communication with the Committee - in evaluations completed last month. In more than 80 pages worth of evaluations paperwork released on Friday after a request from Hamilton-Wenham Patch – superintendent evaluations are a public document – Committee members used number rating from 1-4 and written comments to nearly uniformly express their dissatisfaction with the work he was doing. The individual evaluations of all nine School Committee members are attached to this story as PDF files. (If you are having trouble reading the documents, there is a "fullscreen" mode and also a "+" …

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Robert Gates

8:54 am on Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Commenters: Please remember our Terms of Use, which under the Registration section says, among other things, "Patch believes in transparency, and we ask that all your registration information be truthful. You may not use any aliases or other means to mask your true identity."   more ›