Many changes in school leaders

Superintendent retirements last school year are the main reason behind the seismic shift at the helm throughout districts north of Boston, said Michael Gilbert, field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.

“In terms of the north of Boston area, it was their turn,’’ Gilbert said. “I think it was just a matter of an aging workforce in terms of the superintendents around here.’’

Since last September, about 55 districts statewide have had superintendent turnovers, keeping within the trend of the past seven years, said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

“Half of them are retiring, so that’s 50 percent, [and] the other remaining superintendents are going from one district to the others,’’ Scott said. “That can be for a number of different reasons — looking for a change, new opportunities, working with a more supportive [school] committee, and some of it is compensation.’’

Communities starting the upcoming school year under new leadership include Andover, Beverly, Dracut, Groton-Dunstable Regional, Hamilton-Wenham Regional, Greater Lawrence Technical, Greater Lowell Technical, Manchester Essex Regional, Masconomet Regional, Newburyport, North Reading, Swampscott, Tewksbury, Triton Regional, and Tyngsborough.

For Kathleen M. Willis, North Reading’s new superintendent, now is a time to listen and to formulate an entry plan by way of interviewing officials, administrators, and other stakeholders in the system. Since taking over July 1, Willis said she has had a very exciting summer hiring new administrators, familiarizing herself with ongoing projects like the proposed new high school, and transitioning from her prior duties as assistant superintendent of the Triton Regional School District. Although Willis spent the last 30 of her 33 years in education at Triton Regional, she opted to move on rather than take over the reins from retiring superintendent Sandra Halloran.

“I did not apply to Triton,’’ she said. “I really felt in my heart of hearts that the best decision for Triton was to have someone from the outside. That was a very, very difficult decision for me. It’s always good for someone to come in with new ideas to move the district to the next level.’’

Providing new ideas is what Willis said she hopes to do in North Reading as she takes on the district’s challenges, including planning next year’s operating budget.

Taking over in Triton is Christopher Farmer, Gloucester’s former superintendent. The Gloucester School Committee opted to fill the vacancy with interim superintendent Joseph Connelly, putting the district in a position to begin its superintendent search in the fall — a period that some industry experts consider to be optimal for attracting the most qualified candidates.

“It was our strategy to start now because we felt we would get superintendent candidates at the right time in terms of their cycle of the school year,’’ said Valerie Gilman, chairwoman of the Gloucester School Committee. “So our plan is that we would be planning [to have] our final candidates for decision in December. We were so pleased when we were able to recruit Joe, because he has fit in quickly and we didn’t lose any momentum.’’

Also going the interim route this year are Haverhill, Lawrence, and Methuen. Searches will soon also get underway in Lynnfield and Marblehead, where both superintendents announced plans to retire at the end of the school year, as well as in Winthrop, where the superintendent there announced plans for a December retirement.

Dorothy Presser, chairwoman of Lynnfield’s School Committee, said members were aware Superintendent Robert Hassett intended to stay for three years when they offered him the position.

“It allowed us time to have a slow transition,’’ Presser said, adding that above all, the district has remained stable during economic turbulence. “The increase in our budget this past year was minimal compared to other years. It’s presenting some challenges. We worked hard to maintain programs and teachers. We just settled a three-year contract [with the teachers’ union] that begins Sept. 1.’’

Although Hassett’s predecessor held the post for more than a decade, today’s average length of stay for a superintendent is about four years, said Gilbert of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. The average age for superintendents statewide is around 56, said Scott of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

“People who have been in their positions for a long time [have] reached retirement age,’’ Gilbert said. “I actually think this year will be quieter than most. We’ve gone through four years of some fairly heavy turnover — we’ve turned over between 50 and 60 superintendents in the last three years. I’ve been doing this for 15 years and it’s the most [turnover] I’ve seen.’’

Scott, however, said he does not “see any change over the next several years’’ in turnover.

“There are some people doing interim positions right now, and some leaving in the middle of the school year. The vast majority are people leaving at the end of the school year,’’ Scott said. “We know of 15 openings for the next school year. Starting in September, October, and November, that’s when the superintendents announce. By December, we’ll have 25 to 30.’’

Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com.