Updated Feb. 7
As the date for current Martha’s Vineyard superintendent Richie Smith’s retirement nears, the replacement for the top educational leadership position has been whittled down to three candidates.
The All-Island School Committee announced Friday that Jaime L. Curley, Elizabeth Legault, and Erik Cioffi are the three finalists for the superintendent seat. Alex Salop, the chair of the search committee tasked with refining the applicants down to these finalists, told The Times there were several qualified candidates, but these three stood out as “the best fits for the job.”
All of the finalists are Massachusetts residents, each with over 25 years of education experience. Salop said they all have some Island ties.
Superintendent candidate Curley is the current assistant superintendent of student services in Old Rochester, Massachusetts. She was born and raised in Sandwich, Mass. and still lives there with her husband and three daughters. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Curley went on to get master’s and doctorate degrees in education. Her experience is mainly in school psychology, special education, and work in the superintendency office in her district.
Sippican Week News reported that Curley was hired as the assistant superintendent in Old Rochester in July 2024.
The second candidate, Legault, is a veteran educational leader with over 12 years of experience as a superintendent of schools in East Bridgewater, Mass. and over 30 years as an educator. She has experience with Massachusetts School Building Authority projects and financial planning from her tenure as an educator, both of which were high on the list for qualifications for the Vineyard position.
After announcing her resignation with a letter to the East Bridgewater school district last spring in what The Enterprise reported was a sudden departure, Legault is now a superintendent finalist in several districts, including the Vineyard.
Legault was also reported by the Berkshire Eagle on Friday to be a finalist in the Southern Berkshire regional school district. However, according to the Eagle, her interview with that district was postponed. Also on Friday, Newburyport News published an interview with Legault regarding her being a finalist for the superintendent post in the Amesbury Public Schools District.
Salop said they’re aware of all of Legault’s pending interviews and the other reported information.
“We do know that she’s a finalist elsewhere,” Salop said. “We’re aware that she left her past superintendency.”
The final candidate, Cioffi, has been the assistant superintendent of human resources in Plymouth, Mass. since 2020. He has over 30 years of cumulative experience as a teacher, coach, principal and district administrator. Cioffi has family on the Vineyard, and said in a press release that he’s “proud to come from a family that has called the Island home for four generations.”
Cioffi, much like Smith when he was hired as the assistant superintendent, was head-to-head for the superintendent position with another educator, Christopher Campbell, who got the job in Plymouth six years ago. Cioffi was hired by Campbell to a top position in the superintendent’s office after they competed for the role, as Wicked Local News reported.
Last November, Cioffi was a finalist for the superintendent of schools in Wareham, according to Wareham Week Today. He did not receive the position.
The vetting process for the next Vineyard superintendent has been a mix of community input through informational sessions and preliminary interviews.
“We put together a 20-person screening committee that included school committee members, school representatives, and community stakeholders from across the Island. We interviewed several candidates from the pool over a three-day period and then agreed to move forward with the finalists,” Salop said.
All three candidates will be brought to the Vineyard on Feb. 12 and will be taken on tours of the Island schools, attend meetings with building leaders, staff, and stakeholders, and then sit with the All-Island School Committee for formal interviews. The interviews will be open to the public, starting at 4:30 pm on Thursday at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. The committee plans to discuss and make its decision on that day as well.
“We’re currently finalizing plans for the visits on Thursday,” Salop added.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misidentified Alex Salop as the chair of the All-Island School Committee. He is the chair of the search committee.