At Tuesday night's BOE meeting Vice-Chair Jack Chiaramonte announced that a finalist has been chosen for the Superintendent position. Mr. Chiaramonte would not reveal the candidate's name or background because the other applicants have not been informed that a finalist has been selected. He said that the name will be announced in the next couple of days.
Mr. Chiaramonte said that the candidate is going to visit Norwalk early next week and that a parent forum will take place in the coming days. The BOE is also in the process of scheduling a site visit to the candidate’s school district. “Now, we want the candidate to meet the Norwalk community.” said Chiaramonte.
Norwalk has been without a full time Superintendent since last June when Dr. Sal Corda resigned after the BOE declined to renew his contract. The Board placed Dr. William Papallo, a retired administrator as interim Superintendent, but he stayed only until this month. Another interim Superintent, Dr. Michael Nast is filling the vacancy, most likely until the end of the school year.
During the public comments, several social workers spoke about not receiving adequate pay. They said that currently social workers are being paid on a Masters only level (30 credits). This was not always the practice. Norwalk requires social workers to obtain a Masters in Social Work (which requires 60 credits) entitling them to a higher starting pay. Like almost all districts in CT, Norwalk social workers used to be paid according to this higher pay scale. They blamed the HR Director for making the decision unilaterally to change the level to 30 credits, and said that it goes against the NFT contract. Some social workers are paid under the old pay scale, creating inequity among co-workers
Mr. Nast presented a strategy for hiring the many vacant, soon to be vacant, and interim positions in Central Office. The district is currently interviewing for the director of Health Services position and the Math Specialist position. They are beginning the process for the director of Pupil Personnel. He said that he will get the new superintendent involved in the hiring process, even if the person is not going to start until the summer.
"I would want to be involved in hiring my team," he said.
Mr. Nast also added that he was worried about the quality of the pool of candidates given the impending budget cuts.
Also at the meeting, Robert Polselli, the Director of IT, presented the BOE the district's new web site (which launched officially yesterday) that his team built. He stressed that the website is a dynamic tool for the entire district, on which hundreds of people will be able to post documents. It will continually be improved and updated.
Check back later today for an updated version of this story.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
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the navigation menu for BOE, departments, curriculum, etc. do not work. Not a good way to release the "new and improved" site. Don't get caught up in giving credit to the new Tech. Director...the site has been in the process to be replaced for quite some time, and well before Bob was hired.
ReplyDeleteI just went to the new website and everything seems to be working fine for me.
ReplyDeleteTo 7:20 - Mr. Poselli did not take credit for the new site, rather, he correctly credited those who worked on the project prior to his arrival, his IT team, and certainly the users (staff) who have already embraced this new technology and have populated it with information. He can be credited though with bringing a new sense of enthusiasm and priority to this role. He has clearly expedited these projects that have long been stagnant. I think he is doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteThank you norwalkmon and anonymous 8:17a.m., for posting a positive and accurate comment on this site. I totally agree with your comments. An undertaking of this magnitude takes the efforts of many and Dr. Polselli was gracious to share the credit. As of late, everyone is anxious to jump on the negative aspect of just about everything having to do with education. It is refreshing to see that some individuals can still view events with a rational eye. Without hope and support, this district will not move forward.
ReplyDelete4:12 you bring up a great point. I was starting to wonder who would actually want to work here given the negative climate on these blogs. It's unfortunate but just as employers are now looking at Facebook to research employees employees are doing the same thing back to employers. Although I'm sure the negative opinions aren't representative of the community at large they are very loud and reflect negatively. This is compounded by the fact this information is only a Google search away. I don't know where the other side of this story is but I'm sure it's out there. If the truth is found in the middle we're only seeing one side currently. Also, don't forget about the kids. I use the term loosely because they are also the leaders of tomorrow. They are presidents, ceos, teachers, and small business owners. It's still our responsibility to make sure they get there.
ReplyDelete6:52 - More often than not, the people who are angry, upset or simply in disagreement with something/someone are the ones who will post on a blog, but they often do it because they are not being heard anywhere else. As for the fear of losing candidates for jobs because of the atmosphere of negativity, I would hope that serious candidates are sophisticated enough to do some research before they apply for jobs. If there is a negative environment, it is better that someone knows that before taking the job.
ReplyDeleteI have seen enough firsthand to know that there are some very serious problems with the climate in the NPS. Whether someone likes my saying that or not, it is a fact.
Regardless, I have never regretted the day that I was hired. However, dysfunction caused by pettiness, vendettas and incompetence stands in the way of the great school system that Norwalk deserves. It will take a very strong and inspirational superintendent to begin changing the climate, but I believe it can be done. It is up to the board to hire that person. I hope they understand that.
Hey- Anyone as worried as me about the social workers? Seems weird that the HR person is paying them differently.
ReplyDeleteSince my daughter has been one of the lucky kids who have benefited from a wonderful Social Worker at Naramake of course I'm concerned about their compensation. However, in looking at the big picture - a new, innovative and forward thinking Superintendant will be able to analyze this information and make the right choices. Let's hope the BOE is considering this in their decision making process. And yes, I"m not delusional in thinking the next post will be negative regarding the capacity of BOE to make a good choice.... Unfortunately this has been the pattern. And so it goes in Norwalk...
ReplyDeleteAny news if the school board is going to look into the social worker situation. Seems so unfair that one groups gets such lousy treatment.
ReplyDelete