By Adam Swift
There have been changes in leadership in the Gorman Fort Banks Elementary School.
At last week’s school committee meeting, Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard said current principal Mark McAneny has been on family leave pending some work being done on his retirement.
Assistant Principal Kristen Reynolds has taken over as the acting principal at the Gorman Fort Banks.
“Right now, Mrs. Reynolds is the acting principal of that building and we have some folks supporting her to fill her position as the assistant principal during that time frame,” said Howard. “We need a little bit more time to determine what the date will be that that will become an open and full-time position, as well as filling of the assistant principal’s position in that building.”
Howard said there has been a lot of conversation with the school’s staff about the changes in leadership.
“We had messaging going out two weeks ago for parents to understand that we were having a transition,” said Howard. “Although the transition seemed abrupt, there are certain aspects of staffing that we’re not, in the human resources department, allowed to speak about publicly prior to something. So with Mr. McAneny’s understanding we are certainly now notifying the parents that his anticipated retirement will be upcoming in the next few weeks.”
Howard said McAneny was in good communication with the staff to fill them in on the situation and that she thought his messaging to parents was excellent.
“As we go down that pathway to finalize those positions, I will make sure that the committee is updated on all of that,” said Howard.
McAneney was hired in 2023 and began work as the Gorman Fort Banks principal prior to the 2023-24 school year. He previously served as the principal of the Bishop Elementary School in Arlington.