Oceanside in talks with O.B. schools chief

It did not take long for the word to spread at the April 16 Oceanside Board of Education meeting that the district was negotiating with the superintendent of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District to bring her to Oceanside when Dr. Herb Brown retires at the end of this school year.

Before the meeting ended, Facebook and Twitter messages had everyone abuzz.

The following day, Donna Kraus, spokeswoman for the Oceanside district, confirmed that school board officials were indeed negotiating with Oyster Bay-East Norwich Superintendent Dr. Phyllis S. Harrington, an East Rockaway resident, and hoped to come to a quick resolution on a contract.

That night, Harrington announced at a school board meeting in Oyster Bay that she would be leaving at the end of May, although her contract with the district runs through June 30, 2015. According to findthedata.org, a website that tracks public salaries, Harrington’s salary-and-benefits package totaled $237,500 in 2012.

Harrington has been the superintendent in Oyster Bay-East Norwich since 2004. Before that, beginning in 1980, she was a teacher, an elementary school principal, a director of special education and a deputy superintendent for the district.

New York State Commissioner of Education David Steiner appointed Harrington to the board of directors of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System in 2011. The board sets policy and oversees the system’s operation.

Harrington earned a doctorate in education from Hofstra University and holds degrees from Adelphi University as well. She is active in the American Cancer Society, and with a number of community organizations in Oyster Bay.

Brown, who has been in the Oceanside school system since 1970, will retire in June, but will remain with the school district as a consultant on fiscal matters. His total compensation package in 2012, according to findthedata.org, was $360,797.