Familiar face to take interim superintendent post in Fairfield
Stephen Tracey has done the job before
FAIRFIELD — The man filling the shoes of outgoing Superintendent of Schools Mike Cummings has done the job before.
Officials announced Stephen Tracey will be filling the role of interim superintendent starting July 1 while the school board looks for his permanent replacement.
“I’m happy to announce that Dr. Tracey will once again be joining us as the interim superintendent of schools while the board conducts its superintendent search,” BOE Chair Christine Vitale said in a Tuesday night meeting. “We’re very excited to welcome Dr. Tracey back, just for his knowledge of the district and existing relationships and familiarity with the work of the district.” Vitale said Tracey will be invited to an upcoming board meeting so he can meet with Cummings and get an overview of the district’s goals and priorities, as well as meet staff and community stakeholders.
Tracy is a familiar face in Fairfield, having filled the same interim role in 2016 and 2019.
Tracy has decades of educational experience, beginning as a public school history teacher in Westchester, N.Y. He then served as assistant superintendent in Farmington before becoming New Milford’s superintendent, a role he held from 1985 to 1993 and again as an interim in 2018.
He was the senior vice president at Edison Schools from 1993 to 2007, and then Derby’s superintendent from 2008 to 2012. He then became a superintendent of schools with the state Department of Children and Families, working with students in foster and residential care until he retired in 2015.
Tracey has returned to work in interim assignments along the way when called upon.
The board also voted to form a search committee to fill the superintendent role permanently and contracted Cooperative Educational Services to help with that search. Vitale noted the superintendent search will not be public.
Cummings announced his resignation in early April, saying at the time that he decided to semi-retire and accept the part-time superintendency of Pomfret Community School. He said he was at a point in his life where he needs to be more available to his family.