The Merrimack Valley has seen changes or changes are in the works at the top level of many school districts lately – Tewksbury, Dracut, Andover, Lawrence, Haverhill, Greater Lowell Voke, Greater Lawrence Voke and probably more. There are so many that even the Massachusetts Association of  School Superintendents can’t keep its website member-roster current. It sometimes seems like a chess game as retired superintendents return as interims and administrators from one district – Greater Lowell for example – move across the Valley to head another. Fiscal considerations, falling state reimbursements and revenue constraints have school districts on the hot seat these days with the superintendents needing all the answers. Retirement beckons – or maybe just a change of scenery.

Another change is on the horizon – this time in Methuen. Superintendent Dr. Jeanne Whitten – who includes a stint in the Lowell School system on her resume – announced last night that she will retire in August. Family concerns triggered her decision.  Dr. Whitten has spent thirty-eight years as an educator. See the Eagle-Tribune article here.