HFM
can begin search for new district superintendent
State rules reorganization study won't be necessary
A search will soon begin for a new district superintendent to
head up Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES, now that the State
Education Department has completed its survey of HFM and the
adjacent BOCES and determined that a reorganization study is not
necessary.
HFM BOCES has been led by Interim District Superintendent Mark
Vivacqua since early April, following the death of former
District Superintendent Geoffrey H. Davis on April 1. Mr.
Vivacqua serves as district superintendent of the neighboring
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES and is temporarily heading
up HFM BOCES until a new district superintendent is selected.
Under state law, any time a BOCES superintendent leaves office,
the State Education Department must first survey the BOCESą
component school district s and adjacent BOCES to determine
whether a formal reorganization study should be undertaken. Such
a study could take months to complete, further delaying the
search for a new district superintendent and possibly leading to
a merger with another BOCES.
"We are very pleased that our colleagues in our component school
districts and neighboring BOCES agree that HFM is providing
vital services in our region," said HFM Chief Operating Officer
Lorraine Hohenforst. "We appreciate their vote of confidence
that HFM should be allowed to continue in its present form,
without the need for further study."
During their July 21 special meeting, members of the HFM
BOCES Board of Education officially launched a search for a new
district superintendent, with the hopes of selecting a candidate
by Dec. 1. If the search proceeds as planned, Mr. Vivacqua said,
the new district superintendent could take over by February.
"That is not an unreasonable time frame," he said, "but it could
take longer, depending on circumstances. The board is committed
to seeking the best possible candidate, so a rigorous
recruitment and interviewing process is planned."
State law allows the BOCES Board of Education to recruit and
interview credentialed applicants, and to narrow down the list
to several finalists. The state commissioner of education rules
on the suitability of finalists, allowing the board to then hire
any finalists that the commissioner has approved.
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