

The Saugerties Central College District’s (SCSD) Board of Training could also be pumping the brakes on focusing on a begin date of July for a brand new superintendent of faculties.
The SCSD College Board held a particular assembly on Thursday, April 27 to debate their course of as they search to exchange former Superintendent Kirk Reinhardt, who left Saugerties in late March after lower than 4 years on the helm. The College Board has enlisted assistance from Dr. Jonah Schenker, district superintendent of Ulster BOCES, to assist conduct the search.
Schenker was available on the particular College Board assembly final week to debate how the timeline would unfold. In response to Schenker, the decision for purposes is already open, with a submission deadline of Tuesday, Could 9. Interviews would start on Could 16, with last interviews seemingly the week of Could 22-25. A proposal to the first candidate would happen by Tuesday, Could 30, adopted by an appointment by the College Board at their assembly scheduled for Tuesday, June 16. The official begin date of Thursday, July 1, the start of the 2023-24 faculty 12 months.
Schenker additionally instructed that not all candidates could be interviewed, and that viable candidates would obtain three questions with a two-day window to submit their responses on video.
“That’s the timeline that should occur if July 1 is the goal,” Schenker mentioned, noting {that a} superintendent search usually takes round six months to finish.
However whereas the July 1 timeline was initially requested by trustees, it could be too fast for a few of them, notably as it could reduce suggestions from the group.
“One of many issues that I’m involved about with our timeline is the dearth of group enter,” mentioned “Krista Barringer. “After we did our final superintendent search we made certain that we had a number of suggestions.”
Fellow trustee William Ball agreed.
“Folks wish to be heard,” Ball mentioned. “Are we making an attempt to place ten kilos in a five-pound bag?”
“If group engagement is what you’re after and is what’s wanted, this doesn’t try this,” Schenker mentioned. “It’s not included.”
Schenker instructed that there may be methods of extending the deadline to permit for public enter with out turning it right into a six-month search. For a begin, he advisable that they stick to the Could 9 utility deadline.
“4-to-six weeks is a protracted utility course of,” Schenker mentioned. “You’re going to see the viable candidates apply throughout the first week or two. People who find themselves are prepared, they’ve utility supplies, they usually’re wanting.”
Schenker mentioned that an in depth public survey may decelerate the method greater than the College Board is hoping, however {that a} truncated survey may be of use.
“I might recommend dialing in to some actually exact questions which might be going to be most important and which might be going to tell you,” he mentioned, including that the district might host an open home for finalists to permit for the general public to ask questions previous to trustees making their last choice. The potential for reviewing public surveys undertaken previous to the hiring of Reinhardt may additionally be of worth.
Barringer instructed {that a} city hall-formatted open home ought to embrace a digital part for group members who couldn’t make it in individual. Barringer, who isn’t operating for re-election this 12 months, added that it may be helpful for trustees-elect to be included within the course of after the polls shut on Tuesday, Could 16.
The submission portal is already lively by means of Ulster BOCES, and consists of a lot of {qualifications}, together with a imaginative and prescient for the long run, confirmed management expertise, a need to turn into an lively a part of the Saugerties group and a capability to implement Subsequent Era Studying Requirements.
The SCSD is at the moment being led by Interim Superintendent Dan Erceg, who was promoted to assistant superintendent shortly earlier than Reinhardt introduced his plans to return to his former employer, the Kingston Metropolis College District, in March of this 12 months.
Reinhardt’s return to Kingston got here simply 4 years shy of his departure, when he left his place as Kingston Excessive College principal for the superintendent’s position within the SCSD. He arrived in Saugerties shut to 2 years after his predecessor Seth Turner left for the same place on Lengthy Island.
Reinhardt spent an eventful practically 4 years in Saugerties. 2019-20, his first 12 months as superintendent, was marked by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and distant studying, which noticed faculty districts throughout the nation and across the globe scrambling to take care of instructional continuity and fairness in a time of worldwide turmoil. Throughout his tenure, the SCSD additionally addressed the financial affect of dwindling enrollment by closing Mt. Marion Elementary, dropping the variety of elementary faculties within the district from 4 to a few.
He additionally leaves his mark on Saugerties in different methods, together with serving to form a cupboard he just lately mentioned units up the district for achievement in years to come back, together with addressing tutorial and fairness points he believes will guarantee each pupil has their greatest likelihood of success. The commencement charge in Saugerties rose to 90 p.c throughout his time as superintendent.
As for Reinhardt’s full-time substitute in Saugerties, their arrival might come as early as July 1, or maybe later in the summertime. Schenker is more likely to return to the SCSD on the subsequent Board of Training assembly scheduled for Tuesday, Could 9 to share how the superintendent search may look with various ranges of public involvement.
The submit Saugerties faculty board faucets the brakes, reconsiders time-frame for hiring a brand new superintendent first appeared on Hudson Valley One.