The Board of Education announced at its meeting this week that it would begin searching for an interim Superintendent to fill the position that will be vacated when Dr. Charles Montesano retires at the end of the school year.

The district had hired R-Pat Associates, a consulting firm, to conduct a search over the past few months, and present the Board with a group of six to eight top candidates to consider. The Board conducted interviews over the past few weeks.

“While all very knowledgeable, the nine Board members felt that we did not find a candidate that fits the needs of the community,” Board President Patricia Shada said. 

Shada said that the District’s Business Administrator is in the midst of putting together a list of possible interim candidates.

“The maximum an interim person can serve is one year, and the maximum pay is about $650 per day, generally with no benefits.”

She also mentioned that the Board is still fine-tuning the exact job description for this person, what the Board’s expectations are, and how many days a week the Superintendent will work.

“The $8900 we paid the search team at R-Pat Associates included two searches. We’ve already used one, and we will probably wait a while for the next one,” Shada said.

“We will wait to see how state salary caps and potential leadership changes at other districts affect the candidate pool in the future.”

Also at the meeting, the Board discussed upcoming technology training for teachers receiving new technological equipment.

“We are always considering new technology options in the classroom, which sometimes present challenges,” Dr. Montesano said.

“YouTube is a great example. There are a lot of educational tools on the site, and a lot of inappropriate content. We solved that problem by allowing YouTube on teacher logins, and not on student logins.”

The Superintendent also mentioned that the administration is considering using Skype in the classroom, and looking into the possibility of purchasing webcams for some of the district’s computers.

“Skype has great potential in the classroom. For example, in the World Language department, students could potentially engage in conversations with native speaking students in other countries,” he said.

“It is a work in progress.”