Gill-Montague School Committee Unanimously Appoints Brian Beck as Superintendent

GILL — March 25, 2020 — Gill-Montague School Committee unanimously appoints Brian Beck superintendent effective July 1, pending contract negotiations. The nine-member committee voted Wednesday via video conference — forced by COVID-19 school closures — after deliberating on three finalists, selecting Beck, the principal of Hopkins Academy in Hadley and a Montague resident, over Karen Ferrandino and Mary Jane Rickson. Members praised Beck's community ties, his reported 21-percentage-point graduation rate increase at Athol High School, and stakeholder feedback describing him as "a clear, calm and consistent leader." Committee consultant Tracy reported Beck's answer to the offer as "unequivocally, yes." In a separate action, the committee approved AP Warrant 3039 for $189,509.09 and Scholarship Warrant 3040 for $250, and reported that a memorandum of agreement with the Gill-Montague Teachers Association Units A and C had been approved while a parallel MOA with UFCW Local 1459 Food Service Workers had not.