PTA Implores Board of Ed to Restructure Administration to Save Budget Dollars

As the Board of Education continued to consider cutting the number of in the district, Pelham’s PTA Council offered another cost-saving option: restructuring the school’s administration.

While the trustees deliberated about one of the tightest budgets the district has faced in recent years, the PTA presented a petition on Monday to reconfigure the district’s administration. While the representatives didn’t make any specific suggestions, they asked the board to determine if some roles could potentially be eliminated.

“As we look at the current structure, we have many top line administrators that we feel have brought a lot,” remarked Michele Tarazi of Siwanoy’s PTA Council. “But, when we’re asked to cut back, that’s usually when an effective reorganization happens, if [some positions] reflect redundancy.”

Some PTA members agree that Richard Limato, director of elementary education, could feasibly take over Christine Burton’s job as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction as she prepares to retire. While parents said that Limato has accomplished a lot in his current role, for now, it might be economical and practical to leave his position vacant.

“We have a unique opportunity to make a structural change, even if it’s only temporary,” said Tom Imperato who also serves on Siwanoy’s PTA Council. “We have an opening at the top of the food chain and we have someone who has demonstrated his abilities. Richard Limato has moved from principal to director of elementary education. Our district survived for how many years without that position?”

Limato has, inarguably, brought a number of sweeping changes to the district in his current role. He brought the curriculums for all four elementary schools into sync. He’s working on making the elementary schools’ websites a uniform entity. Limato is also involved with the Pelham Education Foundation. Still, despite these accomplishments, parents said that the approximate $150,000 saved on leaving his job fallow, for the time being, could potentially be more worthwhile.

“I don’t denigrate the need for good administration,” assured Imperato. “I just think that that we should be looking for ways to streamline what we do. We don’t want the loss of teachers.”

The Board of Education said it will consider the PTA’s recommendation, and reminded parents that it has already put in the effort to make administrative changes. As Kathleen McGrath, director of secondary education and instructional technology, prepares to retire too, the board has decided not to fill her position. It will only hire someone to fill the technology side of her job, which will save the district about $40,000.

While Superintendent Dr. Dennis Lauro said he won’t be making any official statements regarding this proposal until April 4, he did say that parents should be realistic about their request: Cutting administrative positions won’t make room for more instructors.

“They’re looking for ways to save money so that they can get teachers added, to get class sizes down,” Lauro said. “We’re not adding teachers. They don’t want to hear that.”