School Board Approves Superintendent Search Firm

The Monday approved a resolution to hire the search firm Leadership Advantage to conduct a search for a permanent superintendent at a fee of $9,500, but several board members openly expressed their support for Interim Superintendent Steven Engravalle, with two of them voting against the measure.

School board president Arthur Levine said the decision was made after the board’s superintendent search committee—comprised of Levine and board members John Bang, Peter Suh and Joseph Surace—made the recommendation to the full board.

“We had a committee meeting, which consists of several board members—four—at which we went over the various proposals that we received,” Levine said. “And based upon that, and also there were some senior board members who worked with a number of these firms, the recommendation was made to the full board.”

The move comes two weeks after the board passed a walk-in resolution approving Engravalle’s contract as “Interim” Superintendent through Feb. 29 at a meeting largely dominated by discussion of if and when a search for a permanent superintendent would be conducted and where the process currently stands.

In October, the school board voted to solicit bids from seven superintendent search firms at the same meeting Engravalle was appointed “Acting” Superintendent.

Business administrator Cheryl Balletto said Monday there were four companies that submitted proposals, ranging from $8,500 to $15,000, and that it’ll be about a three-month process from the time an ad is published to the time the school board makes a selection.

“[The four firms] pretty much all provide the same service,” Balletto said, adding that Leadership Advantage “are the ones who worked with us three years ago.”

“They met the timelines the board was looking for,” she said. “They fulfilled their obligation at that time.”

On the question of whether finalists for the position would be brought in to address the public, giving people the opportunity to provide input on the ultimate decision, Levine said, the board would do that “to the extent that we can.”

“There might be candidates who have existing positions, and they might not want to divulge that to their current employers,” Levine warned, however. “We would have to honor that.”

But he also said the board remains open to the possibility.

While the resolution to approve Leadership Advantage passed, not all of the members of the school board voted in favor of it.

Board vice president Linda McCue said she was voting no, although she noted, “I understand why the board is presenting the search; but in my conscience, I can’t vote yes.”

“[Engravalle] has been with us for a year-and-a-half,” McCue said. “He has experience as a principal, an assistant superintendent [and] a superintendent. As far as I’m concerned he’s had a good track record.”

She also said there would be "no learning curve" if Engravalle is appointed superintendent, and that he could immediately begin filling “key positions” and “continue business as usual.”

“We can’t afford to take a step backward, as far as I’m concerned, and lose momentum,” McCue said. “This will be our third superintendent search in six years; I’m getting tired of it. The problem is each time a new superintendent comes in—based on experience—it takes a good year to get the lay of the land, to get acquainted and to actually get down to business. I believe in giving people a chance to perform and hopefully succeed.”

That was a sentiment echoed by board members Angela Napolitano, who also voted against the resolution, Suh, Levine, Surace and Charlie Luppino, all of whom voted in favor of it nonetheless.

“We have qualified, experienced individuals right here in our district, and I think it’s time to look inside our own district,” Napolitano said. “I think Mr. Engravalle has been dedicated. He’s worked very hard … it’s time to promote in our district.”

Luppino said he voted in favor of the resolution “because that’s what the public wanted.”

“But after four weeks or six weeks or however long it’s been of working with [Engravalle] as our interim, I believe that our next superintendent is in this room,” Luppino said.