Board of Ed Discusses the Search for the New Superintendent

In the words of Board of Education Assistant Secretary Geoff Alswanger, “It’s been one month since Superintendent Starr announced he was leaving and it’s time [for the Board of Education] to get a move on.”

Stamford Superintendent Joshua Starr April 26 that he would be leaving the district at the end of June after accepting the position of superintendent in Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools. He has been superintendent in Stamford for six years.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the board began discussions surrounding what the process will be for appointing an acting, interim, and — finally — permanent superintendent to fill Starr’s shoes.

Board President Polly Rauh said the district’s attorney advised all members of the board to join a personnel search committee. Such a committee would not fall under restrictions of the Freedom of Information Act and, therefore, would not have to publicly discuss all meetings and agenda items. Board member Julia Wade acknowledged that some aspects of the search committee are highly confidential, such as which applicants are initially applying, but that most aspects of the process should be a public dialogue.

“It’s a confidential process, but the rest is very public. We are the search committee, but not the only people deciding this process,” Vice President Jerry Pia said.

Pia is the longest-serving member of the board and this will be his fifth superintendent search. “We’ll get together many community groups and focus groups to get different points of view,” he said.

After an impromptu executive session, the board said that an acting superintendent would be announced next Tuesday after a special meeting, and on June 21 it will hold a public meeting to discuss the process of selecting an interim and permanent superintendent.