Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the selectmen this week that the town’s search for a finance director to replace Lorraine Leonard, who retired in June, has failed twice. Each time the search committee has selected a finalist, he said, the candidate has declined the offer.
The problem, he said, is the need for a professional with the certifications to support both the schools and the town. Such candidates are hard to come by, he said, since most towns of Harvard’s size do not combine those positions.
In Leonard’s absence, the school administration has hired a part-time consultant, and on Tuesday night Bragan said the search committee had concluded that the arrangement should be maintained for the next two years. This would allow the town to advertise for a candidate qualified to direct Harvard’s Finance Department but not yet qualified for school finance. Bragan said the town would pay for the school-finance training of the new hire, who would be ready to step into that role in a year or two. The part-time consultant would be on hand to serve as a mentor.
The new plan has the support of the search committee, which includes School Superintendent Linda Dwight and School Committee Chairwoman SusanMary Redinger. The School Committee will vote on the plan at a future meeting. Meantime, said Bragan, the existing 1992 memorandum of understanding between the town and the schools that combines the two positions will have to be rewritten and then approved.
