Parents and teachers had the opportunity Tuesday to meet with Greg Pickering, the finalist candidate for principal of Mascenic Regional High School.

For some of them, it was a reintroduction to Pickering, who has previously served as interim principal for the school.

The district originally narrowed the field of potential candidates to three, including Pickering, and after initial reference checks and interviews, forwarded Pickering to the final stage to meet teachers and parents. A final decision has yet to be made, with the selection committee expecting to meet Thursday to review feedback from the meet-and-greet.

Should Pickering not be selected, the district will restart the application process for a new round of candidates.

Pickering, who holds a master’s degree in school counseling from Keene State College, has a professional background in school counseling, as a paraprofessional educator and in educational leadership. 

Currently, Pickering is principal of the Monadnock Regional Middle/High School, a role he held for the last year. He previously served as the assistant principal and then interim principal for Mascenic in 2022 through 2024. Prior to that, he was a school counselor in the Windsor School.

“I loved my time here. It was a really special opportunity to grow in my role as interim principal,” Pickering said.

He said his time as principal in Monadnock had helped to improve his skills as an instructional leader, but that he felt that Mascenic was still a good fit for him.

“There was a happiness component that Mascenic had,” Pickering said of why he applied for the position.

When asked about what he had learned as principal that he might like to bring to Mascenic, Pickering said he had taken a “data-oriented” approach to educational improvement at Monadnock, and that he had seen some systems help with students meeting competencies. He said the main thing was to develop a system that used the teaching team’s leadership skills.

Pickering spoke about bullying, saying that in his time in Mascenic, he was involved with documentary screenings on the issue and helping connect the consequences of actions. He said student impact and feedback spawned the effort.

“With my counseling background, we always want students to start with concern for themselves, and concern for others,” Pickering said.

When asked about how he would balance budgetary concerns with education, given that the budget has been in default for the last two years, Pickering acknowledged the difficulty families are facing.

“The cost of living goes up and up and up,” Pickering said. He also noted that the same was true of costs for everyone, including the schools, and there are aspects that the district might not have much control over, such as health insurance and busing costs.

Pickering said he’s aware of those issues, having seen the Monadnock Regional School District’s budget proposal cut by nearly $3.2 million at the deliberative session, forcing it lower than the default. In that case, Pickering said, voters ultimately voted in the higher default budget – a similar case to what happened in Mascenic two years ago.

Pickering said his expectation for this year in Monadnock was to deliver a flat budget.

“You have to do that in tandem with your office administration,” Pickering said. “And sometimes that’s realistic conversations that are happening about tightening your belt. It’s a big question that’s connected to policy that’s happening at the national level and the state level.”

Pickering said those decisions affect students, and one of the main ways to help budgets pass it to communicate with the voters.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.