The Harvard School Committee pondered four possible administrative models for the district Monday night, but succeeded only in reducing its options to three. The committee has discussed replacing Harvard's full-time superintendent with a different administrative structure since former School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson resigned last winter.

The School Committee's Administrative Restructuring Subcommittee, consisting of members Patricia Wenger and Kirsten Wright and interim Superintendent Joe Connelly, presented a report detailing the advantages and disadvantages of four possible models, three of which remain under consideration.

The models still in contention are these:

• A part-time superintendent, with flexible work hours and days. The subcommittee estimated that this model would save the district about $80,000 a year in the budget. However, a part-time superintendent would be significantly less available both to teachers and parents, and response time might be delayed as much as three days, according to the report.
• A "school union" in which Harvard shares a superintendent, and also several other positions, with Boxborough's elementary school. While this model is estimated to save somewhere between $199,000 and $358,000, the Boxborough School Committee will not be ready to make a decision until the 2012-2013 school year.
• A full-time superintendent, which is the current administrative model and also carries the highest price tag.

School Committee members did agree to rule out a fourth option that they had been considering: the superintendent/principal model, under which one person is both a principal for one of Harvard's schools and also superintendent for the district. According to the subcommittee's report, Harvard's school system is too large for this model, and even districts that currently have such an administrative structure say it is "insufficient."

After hearing a summary of the subcommittee report, School Committee chairman Keith Cheveralls asked other members for their reactions. SusanMary Redinger led off, saying she would rule out the principal/superintendent model and also the part-time superintendent, because its savings did not outweigh the drawbacks cited in the report.

Committee member Piali De immediately countered that she liked the part-time model.

Cheveralls agreed that he, too, liked it as a one-year experiment, saying he hoped Connelly would stay another year if a part-time position were created. Committee members Patricia Wenger and Kirsten Wright agreed with Cheveralls.

"It's a great opportunity," Wright said. "It would be foolish not to try it for a year if Dr. Connelly is interested."

Wright noted that she would not want to try the part-time model with a new person and doubted that it would work as a long-term solution. But she supported it if Connelly would accept.

Finance director Lorraine Leonard also expressed support for the part-time position.

Mary Zadroga, administrative assistant to the superintendent, said, "I'm a little worried to say this, but I think it is a tough sell to have a part-time person in that office. There is always a lot of work in the office."

She referred to the numerous statements from teachers and parents, cited in the report, many of whom expressed a strong preference for a full-time superintendent.

Connelly said, "There is a big question here. If there is even the slightest possibility that you will be doing a full search, you have to make a decision no later than January 9." (That date is the next regularly scheduled School Committee meeting.)

During the time of the meeting set aside for citizen's commentary, former School Committee member Stu Sklar strongly supported the idea of a full-time superintendent. He noted that Harvard already has low administrative costs. While central-office costs average 4 to 6 percent of a district's budget in Massachusetts, according to Sklar, Harvard's costs are only 2.66 percent.

He urged the School Committee to begin the search process soon.

Cheveralls said the committee seemed to have reached a consensus, but he felt that this decision should be unanimous. He asked the subcommittee to look at details of a flexible, part-time work agreement and report back to the full committee on Jan. 9.

Connelly said that the subcommittee's report on all four models, along with comments from parents, teachers, and administrators, would soon be available at www.psharvard.org on the superintendent's page.