By Anthony Rifilato
At the October 10 board meeting, school officials approved a contract with School Leadership LLT, a New York City-based consulting firm that will initiate the process of finding a permanent superintendent.
School board President James Scannell said that the board is aiming to fill the position by next July. The process, he said, will include advertising for the position and working with School Leadership to recruit experienced candidates. The board is also asking parents and residents to provide input during the search, and will hold a public meeting on Nov. 27 at Baldwin High School.
The search for a superintendent comes after Britto abruptly resigned in June because of differences he had with the board, according to sources, though members of the board said the departure was amicable. Britto was being paid $207,000 a year. Dr. Thomas Caramore is currently serving as interim superintendent, and his contract expires next year.
Britto was hired in 2005 after former superintendent Dr. Kathy Weiss retired. Following her departure, the board began its search for a replacement, a process similar to the current one. Asked whether the board would do things differently to avoid a situation similar to Britto's, Scannell explained that he believed the process is not to blame.
"I don't think the way things worked out [with Britto] was a reflection that the process was flawed," Scannell said. "Things just didn't work out. The process is basically pretty similar and needs to be similar."
The board did not estimate how much it would cost to search for a replacement. When Weiss announced her retirement, the board set aside $25,000 in an administrative portion of the 2004-05 budget for a search. Scannell has said that the cost of finding a new superintendent would be considerably lower than the funding allocated for Weiss's replacement, and that the district would advertise for the position throughout the winter and spring.
The board will be looking for a successful candidate with a history of leadership in a diverse community and school district, and a record of strong instructional leadership - a leader capable of maintaining and increasing confidence in the district's schools, according to Scannell. "At this point in time, it looks like we're going to use the previous specifications used during the previous search," Scannell said. "It's about eight bullet points, based on extensive contact with the community, PTAs, administrators and more. We're not going to have to reinvent the wheel."
In the meantime, Scannell said, Caramore - a former superintendent in the Bellmore Merrick Central School District - has been doing an excellent job as superintendent. "He gives us the ability to approach the search in a calm and unrushed way, which has the greatest chance of producing a great candidate," Scannell said. "Just like last time, we'll do our best to keep people posted about the process. We recognize that one of the most important things a board does is hire a superintendent of schools."
Residents will have the chance to provide input to the Board of Education as it searches for a superintendent during a meeting at Baldwin High on Tuesday, Nov. 27 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit www.baldwinschools.org.
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
