Word Cloud from 341 Petition Comments

From the Petition

Petition Circulating to Rescind Appointment of Assistant Superintendent

Check it out:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/hastings-board-of-ed-to-suspend-assistant-superintendent-appointment

Additional  clarification: it should be noted that there has been a Director of Curriculum position for 2 years, which was included in the recently passed budget. This position is a tenure track position, with a  salary allocated in the recent budget was $141 k.

The Asst. Supt. position replaces the Dir. of Curriculum position.

The  Asst. Supt. position involves greater authority and $160 k salary, and a transfer of the time already accrued towards tenure (in the Director position) towards the Asst. Supt. position. (There are state laws that govern this; I am not familiar with them.) On Wednesday I requested job descriptions for the Director and the Asst. Supt.positions, as well as a copy of the organization charts and reporting structure before and after the appointment.  I’ll publish them when I receive them from the school administration.

I glad to see that the discussion is focused on the public approval process and the priorities of our school system, as opposed to the  individual in Dir. of Curriculum position. I want to reiterate that this discussion has nothing to do with her qualifications or capabilities, but rather the process and the priorities of our school district.

Posted by Jane Cody
Postings reflect opinion of poster

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

Asst. Superintendent position announced, approved
and staffed in a single day

Yesterday, at 12:24 pm, the Superintendent  and the Hastings Board of Education announced the creation of a position called the “Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction & Personnel”.  That same day, during the last School Board meeting of this academic year, the Board voted to hire Rhonda Cohen for this position.

This is an egregious violation of the public trust.

This is not about the merits or demerits of  Rhonda Cohen. It is about the absence of an opportunity for the public to debate the need for such a  position, to consider the merits of the candidate,  to know whether there had been an open hiring process that solicited additional candidates, or to assess whether we can afford such a position.  There was no information provided about the salary or terms of the position, whether it is subject to tenured position, and, if so, when.

Only after the Board had approved the position did the public have an opportunity to comment. Not surprisingly there weren’t many comments because few people even knew about the appointment because it had been announced only seven hours prior to the meeting. However three Hastings residents voiced their strong concerns about the lack of an open process. One  resident asked the Board to rescind the appointment, based on the absence of an open process.

Despite our current state of austerity, the Superintendent and the Board did not solicit public input for such an important, high ranking, and probably highly paid position. This is a bold and outrageous move to avoid public debate and circumvent the normal vetting process for a public position that the Superintendent and the Board  know may be controversial.

Below is the text of yesterday’s email announcing the position.

Speak up! Scroll down to Add Comments. We want to know what the community thinks:

• about the decision making process,
• whether or not there is a need for this position.
• whether the Board should rescind its decision

Posted by Jane Cody

From: Outreach Message Hastings-on-Hudson <hayesd@hastings.k12.ny.us>
Sent: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 12:23 pm
Subject: Board of Ed. to consider 3 admin. appointments

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON U F S D Message sent – 6/15/2009 Board of Ed. to consider 3 admin. appointments Dear Hastings Community Member: The Agenda for tonight’s (June 15th) Board of Education Meeting includes the consideration of three administrative appointments. Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction & Personnel The first recommendation is that the Board appoints Dr. Rhonda Cohen as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, & Personnel. She currently serves as the District’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Personnel, and has worked hard over the last two years to support the district’s focus on program implementation, professional development, and curriculum renewal. Hastings High School Principal< br> The second recommendation is to appoint Mr. Louis Adipietro as Principal of Hastings High School. Lou has been the high school’s Assistant Principal since 2006, and has spent the past four months serving as Interim Principal. He has successfully demonstrated his ability as a building leader, and it was quite clear to members of the Interview Committee and the larger high school community that Lou was the most qualified person to become the next principal of Hastings High School. Hillside Elementary School Assistant Principal The third recommendation is to appoint Mr. Brent Harrington as the next Assistant Principal of Hillside Elementary School. Brent joined the district in 2001 as a Social Studies teacher at Farragut Middle School. He spent this past year as the District’s Instructional Technology Coordinator, a newly created position responsible for working with teachers district-wide to embed technology in their instruction. Brent has worked closely with Hillside staff and students to create iMovies, podcasts and videos. Incoming Hillside Principal, Laura Sullivan, and members of the Interview Committee were impressed by Brent’s candidacy, his enthusiasm, and his interest to become the next Assistant Principal at Hillside. Administrative positions are an integral part of the future success of Hastings Public Schools so please join us at tonight’s meeting in a show of support for these three highly-qualified individuals. This e-mail has been sent to you by HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON U F S D. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message. If you wish to discontinue this service, please inform HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON U F S D IN PERSON, by US MAIL, by TELEPHONE at (914) 478-2900 or REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL.