Connelly, committee laud Casey’s work
Published on April 19th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - As the School Committee prepared itself for its next order of business – commencing the search for a new Assistant Superintendent -it thanked the man who has had the job for the last five years as he prepares to move on.
Assistant Superintendent of Stoneham Schools Joseph Casey has but a few details to work out before he takes on the number one job in the Melrose School System, that of Superintendent of Schools. He is expected to finish out the school year in Stoneham and make his move on July 1.
“I want to thank Joe,” said Stoneham School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly. “He’s been my assistant for five years. He’s done an outstanding job. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the invaluable help he’s given me and the entire school system, and I wish you nothing but the best of luck.”
Casey admitted that the decision to make the move was not an easy one.
“It was a tough decision to leave Stoneham because there is so much here that is positive…(but) it is the right time in my career to make such a move.”
“I want to thank Dr. Connelly for being not just a mentor but a friend, (for being) someone who’s allowed me to participate in all aspects of the position, to almost have a joint superintendency.”
Casey went on to praise the School Committee and the various boards that he has worked with on many issues.
“I can’t say enough to the community about how dedicated (the boards are), the hours they put in, the work that they do, the nights they spend out. They’re really dedicated to the welfare of the children.”
He called the school’s Central Office staff “tremendous,” adding “they make so much happen with so little.”
Committee member Maureen Soley said Casey’s work ethic would be missed.
“We’ll really, really miss you, Joe,” said Committee Chairman Marie Christie.
Connelly also credited the Melrose School Committee for letting Stoneham know of its decision so early.
“Having April, May and June to begin the search is good.”
The School Committee hopes to put in place a search committee at its May 4 meeting, with the process progressing along to selection of a candidate by the end of June.
While the timing looks good to potentially have a new assistant superintendent in place by the start of the 2006-07 school year, Connelly cautioned that despite that advantage, the School Committee can stop and restart the process at any time if it feels it does not have a strong enough pool of candidates.
The newest addition to the Stoneham School Committee, Miriam Regan-Fiore, who drew an overwhelming response from voters in the April 4 election, questioned if the timing is now right to explore how best the assistant superintendent position serves the needs of the town.
“I just wonder if this would be a good opportunity for the community to step back and look at this vacancy in light of the whole organizational design, and maybe look at other school districts.”
Soley said that the workload of the superintendent and assistant superintendent, which includes overseeing curriculum, legislative mandates, personnel, evaluations, budget, MCAS and grant writing, warrants two positions.
“The fact that we are currently only spending about 2.6 percent of our total budget on administrative staff speaks to the fact that we are not, contrary to popular myth, overstaffed administratively,” Soley stated.” I feel we should go forward with the search and see if we can find the best man or woman for the job.”
“I believe it is an absolutely essential position,” Connelly agreed. “I think we’re really lucky that Melrose has told us as soon as they have what their decision was. If we wait even a month, we’ll put ourselves at a disadvantage.”
Christie agreed with acting on what looks like a beneficial time line, but suggested looking at the issue Regan-Fiore raised simultaneously.
Regan-Fiore and committee member Kristin Russo will begin looking at the position in light of how other districts are designed.
“I feel like it is my responsibility to be able to defend whatever action we take,” the newest committee member said.
In other news, the School Committee, not surprisingly, voted to opt out of becoming a school choice district. As required by the state, School Committees must address the issue each year of whether or not to let students from other towns come to the Stoneham Public Schools. If Stoneham was to participate in the program, it could receive $5,500 from the state for each out of town student it takes in.
But Connelly warned that the intention of the program was not so that struggling districts could tap into much needed funds.
“School Choice was never meant to be a revenue producing program. It was meant to develop a competitive environment between public schools and private schools…(to be) a catalyst for school systems to make sure they ran a quality school system so they wouldn’t start losing kids to other school systems.”
Christie called it “fool-hardy” for Stoneham to consider becoming a school choice district in light of its current struggle with overcrowded classrooms, particularly at the high school level.
Connelly also cited the possibility of more than projected numbers of students entering the school system from the proposed Langwood Commons project slated for the Boston Regional Medical Center site once that endeavor comes to fruition.
“At this point, there are so many unknowns happening in Stoneham and…financially, we’re at a disadvantage to consider this as a viable option.”
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