BRISTOL - The Newfound Area School District has established a time line and the criteria for its search committee to find a new superintendent.

Superintendent Marie Ross, who suffered a stroke-like event in September and is on medical leave, has notified the district that she will not be returning. Phil McCormack, who retired last year as Inter-Lakes School District's superintendent, was hired for several months as acting superintendent.

The school board was thankful that Ross notified the district quickly, as board members say they are getting an early start on their search for her replacement. Potential superintendent candidates tend to seek jobs in the spring, when top school administrators tend to announce job moves.

"January is prime season to find a superintendent," said board Chairman Vincent Paul Migliore. "We think we're getting the jump."

The board decided that the search will take about three months, Migliore said.

At its meeting Wednesday, the board chose the first member of the search committee - former district school board chairman Leslie Dion of Bristol, who is the director of the Tapply Thompson Community Center in Bristol.

The rest of the committee will consist of the following:

-- Two school district administrators;

-- Two district teachers;

-- Two parents from within the district;

-- Two people nominated by the selectmen in district towns;

-- Two support staff members from the district.

The district is asking for letters of interest from district residents and staff who want to serve on the board, school officials said.

To assist in the search, the board has hired the New England School Development Council, or NESDEC, a private, not-for-profit educational organization in Marlborough, Mass., that specializes is school administrator searches, Migliore said.

Government grants are available to help pay for the search, he said.

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