Superintendent search down to 3
Finalists to replace Piccirillo scheduled to begin meeting public tonight
The Saratoga Springs City School District Board of Education narrowed its search for the new superintendent of schools to three finalists Monday morning.
Michael Patton, superintendent of the South Glens Falls Central School District; Douglas Silvernell, assistant superintendent for 21st century teaching and learning in the Saratoga Springs City School District; and Timothy Terranova, deputy superintendent in the West Irondequoit Central School District are the finalists. They will present their entrance plans to the public beginning with Terranova at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with Silvernell will to present at 5 p.m. Wednesday and Patton at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3.
Each presentation will be held in the Teaching Auditorium, Room H102, at Saratoga Springs High School, and community members, parents, staff and students are invited. The school board will conduct final interviews after the finalists have met the public.
“After reviewing applications and interviewing a slate of highly qualified candidates, we are confident that the three outstanding individuals we are advancing to the final round are well suited to lead our school district into the future,” said board President JoAnne Kiernan in a statement. “We look forward to an informative week of presentations and discussion before we make our final decision.”
Terranova, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, has also worked as assistant superintendent for finance and personnel in his Rochester-area school dis-
trict. Silvernell has been in his position in Saratoga since 2012, previously working as principal of Queensbury Middle School, while Patton has been superintendent at South Glens Falls since 2011 and previously worked as principal of Queensbury High School and assistant principal at Ballston Spa High School.
The school board its the search in May, four months after Michael Piccirillo announced his plan to retire Dec. 31. Piccirillo’s 2016 salary was $183,713.
According to James Dexter, superintendent of Warren Saratoga Washington Hamilton Essex BOCES, the district’s lead consultant for the search, the hiring process included a community forum and online survey to obtain feedback from the community regarding the characteristics, skills and experience desired in the next school district leader. Board members screened 22 candidates in August and conducted initial interviews with eight of the applicants. Four semifinalists were then interviewed by a pair of advisory committees comprising members from the community, school staff, students and parents who provided in-depth feedback to the board.
“I was pleased with the professional and rigorous process that the board put in place,” Dexter said.
The last time the district underwent a superintendent search, in 2012, the board interviewed seven internal candidates and did not conduct an external search before choosing Piccirillo, who served as the district’s assistant superintendent for secondary education from 200712, to replace Janice White. Piccirillo began with the district as a social studies teacher and also served as a middle-and high-school principal.