The Newburgh Board of Education held their regular public meeting last night. Among the highlight of the topics was an update on the search for a new Superintendent.
The District hired consulting firm HYA to lead the search efforts. Dr. Monica Brown and Ed McCormick, consultants with the firm, gave a presentation to the Board outlining the search efforts.
Dr. Brown reported that formal recruiting has not yet began until they receive final approval from the Board of Education. However, that they already received 22 applications for the position, including five from current sitting superintendents.
Dr. Brown explained the leadership profile that her firm created to provide to potential candidates. This includes the strengths and the challenges the District are facing. This will be used in their advertising campaign for a new top school boss.
“Some of the major strengths were diversity,” Dr. Brown observed. “We saw that in your District, your stakeholders are very proud of the diversity in the District, and all types of diversity.” She pointed out the uniqueness of the NECSD because of the enlarged district containing urban and suburban students. She also noted the strong community support of the schools and the opportunities available to the students.
Regarding the challenges, Dr. Brown noted that equity challenges still need to remain “on the front burner” for a potential candidate. She also explained the climate in the schools regarding teacher morale due to “initiative fatigue”. She said a new Superintendent would need to prioritize these initiatives.
McCormick emphasized that an important characteristic in a candidate is trust. He added that a new Superintendent must be able to take criticism from the community, set a vision, and establish trust within the District, community and unions.
BOE member Darren Stridiron asked what the public would see and any interaction they may have throughout the search process. McCormick explained that the search is divided into three parts. Community input is in the first phase. The second phase is recruiting. The third phase is evaluation of the candidates. At that point, the BOE could decide how they want to interact with the community.
Following the presentation, the BOE voted unanimously to accept the documents submitted by HYA Consulting and to move forward with the search.
Also during the meeting, the BOE voted unanimously to appoint Patrick Kavanagh as an Assistant Principal within the district. The appointment includes a 4-year probationary term with a pro-rated salary of $125,151.
Additionally, the BOE unanimously voted to create a new full-time Assistant Principal position within the district.
Edward J. Mucci and Jeffrey Noto were appointed as temporary Substitute Administrators for the current school year, at a per diam rate of $500, effective today.
