Schools

O'Connell Chosen as Superintendent of Megavoke

Dan O'Connell will move on from leading North Shore Tech to the new regional vocational high school that will replace it in Danvers.

School board members for the new regional vocational school under construction in Danvers have chosen to keep Dan O'Connell along for the ride as the new superintendent-director for the school.

The Salem News reports that committee members from the 17 member cities and towns voted unanimously Thursday evening to hire O'Connell after interviewing him and one other finalist for the job earlier that evening.

O'Connell is currently the superintendent-director at North Shore Technical High School in Middleton, which is one of the schools that merged with Essex Agricultural & Technical High School and Peabody High's vocational program to form the new school district for what is now called Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical High School.

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O'Connell was promoted to the top job at North Shore Tech in 2010. Prior to that he was the school principal since 2007. The other finalist for the Essex Tech job was Edward Bouquillon, the superintendent-director at Minuteman Regional High School.

Roger Bourgeois, who would have been a likely candidate for the job as well, is resigning April 1 as the superintendent of Essex Aggie to take a job with the Boston Public Schools.

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The Salem News reports that board members didn't discuss O'Connell's contract at the meeting. High salaries for administrators at the new school has been the target of harsh criticism from local officials of member communities.

The new state-of-the-art vocational school is slated to open its doors in September 2014 with 1,440 students from all three schools that are part of the merger. The school is being built across the street from Essex Aggie.

In addition to construction, there are still many logistical issues for O'Connell to deal with, along with establishing a leadership team, before the school opens. You can read more about the merger at the North Shore Tech website.

The district includes 17 cities and towns: Peabody, Danvers, Salem, Beverly, Hamilton, Wenham, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant, Topsfield, Middleton, Georgetown, Boxford, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Essex, Gloucester and Rockport.


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