Pelham School Officials Plan to Hire Firm for Superintendent Search

• The following statement was read by Pelham school board President Robert Eicher during the Tuesday, May 1,  school board meeting.

With the retirement of Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Dennis Lauro, Jr., on December 31, 2012,  the Board of Education  has begun to develop a plan of action to find a replacement.  We recognize that this is one of the most important decisions a Board  can make and it is our goal to do so thoughtfully and with input from all Pelham stakeholders: teachers, administrators  students, support staff, and parents as well as residents and other community leaders.

We would like to select a search firm to assist in the process of conducting the kind of  national search we agree is necessary to accomplish our goals. We are requesting proposals from a number of search firms and hope to select a firm by the end of June.

The Board and the community will then work with the selected search firm to identify the qualifications and qualities we want in our next leader.  Given the timing right now, we anticipate that this public process will take place in the fall when all stakeholders will be available to fully participate. We expect that the final candidates for the superintendent position will be asked to address Pelham stakeholders at a community forum to give stakeholders the opportunity for further input in the decision-making process. We determine that it will be necessary to hire an interim superintendent to serve between the date of Dr. Lauro’s retirement and the date a candidate is selected and can assume office.

We are at a pivotal time in education and in our district.  We have made great strides and we want to build on our achievements. We are aware that the Pelham community wants a thorough search to find the best candidate and wants to play a meaningful role in the process. We are committed to making sure that happens.