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Mostly Cloudy Interim superintendent hired
Former schools chief Leon Campo to return temporarily
Former East Meadow School District Superintendent Leon J. Campo will once again take over as chief of schools, this time on an interim basis, effective July 1, one day after current Superintendent Louis DeAngelo is set to retire.
The move was voted on and the decision announced by Board of Education trustees at their May 28 meeting, just two weeks after a public work session at which DeAngelo confirmed he would be retiring.
The change in leadership coincides with the district’s implementation of full-day kindergarten for the 2015-16 school year, which was approved by voters on May 19.
The need for a superintendent who is familiar with the district during a time of change was a key component in the decision, said board President Joseph Parisi. “The upcoming implementation of full-day kindergarten, which is only 12 weeks away, along with the need to start the [permanent] superintendent search, does not allow for a learning curve,” Parisi said at last week’s meeting.
Campo, 72, has 35 years of administrative experience in the East Meadow district, and became superintendent in 2006. He retired in 2009. Residents who are unfamiliar with him may at least recognize his name: The district’s administrative headquarters in Westbury, where school board meetings are held, is the Leon J. Campo Salisbury Center.
Parisi said that trustees considered many factors before deciding on Campo. “The most compelling was his experience, knowledge of the district, and the ability to hit the ground running,” Parisi said.
Six of the seven trustees voted in favor of Campo’s hiring. Walter Skinner, who will relinquish his seat at the end of the school year, abstained from the vote.
Campo will remain superintendent until trustees select a permanent replacement. Parisi said that focus groups would soon be formed to solicit input from faculty members and parents to help guide the search, in order to make the process as transparent as possible.
The search will likely take at least six months, Parisi said, meaning that Campo will still be in place when schools reopen in September with full-day kindergarten. Parisi said that the central administration had reported to him that work has begun on the staffing, curriculum and facility requirements needed to put the program in place.
DeAngelo and Skinner were honored for their years of service at last week’s meeting. DeAngelo was hired by the district as the director of special education in 1985. His position was eventually combined with that of the director of pupil personnel services, in which he served until he was appointed assistant superintendent for human resources in 2001. He became superintendent in 2009, replacing Campo.
Skinner has been a board trustee since 2006. He lost a bid for re-election last month by just 32 votes to challenger Melissa Tell. Both he and DeAngelo received ovations from the audience after Parisi publicly wished them farewell.
The meeting’s celebratory mood was a stark contrast to the atmosphere at other meetings in recent months, when parents loudly voiced their frustration over the perceived divergence of their views on the district’s future with those of the administration. The disharmony culminated at a meeting on April 30, when several parents, including Parent Teacher Association Council president Tracy Allred Pulice, called on trustees to make immediate changes.
But with the recent adoption of full-day kindergarten and an upcoming leadership change, there was an air of relative calm last week, with most attendees seemingly focused on what lies ahead. “East Meadow is a great school district,” Parisi told the audience. “And that will only get greater as we work together to move forward. With your help, I know that this is possible.”
