District hires its next leader

Role of public in selection of superintendent unknown

With little fanfare, the Schenectady school district has picked a new superintendent.

The decision to hire Anibal Soler Jr. comes after a long search for a new leader that was prompted by the abrupt resignation of the previous superintendent, Larry Spring, and the collapse of contract negotiations with the district’s first pick to replace him.

There was little outward indication the district was close to selecting a new superintendent and it is unclear how much school leaders followed through on a repeated promise to solicit the public’s input in the search.

The district simply issued a statement Friday morning announcing that it had picked Soler to lead the school system of nearly 10,000 students.

He did not respond Friday to an inquiry to his work email seeking comment.

The district did not offer any details about Soler’s contract.

Soler will be introduced Wednesday at a news conference at Schenectady High School. Shortly afterward, Soler will formally be appointed by the Board of Education, which will be joined the same day by new board members Jamaica Miles and Erica Brockmyer.

Neither of them responded Friday to voicemail messages seeking comment.

In a statement, the district indicated that “the process to find a permanent superintendent was launched in spring

2020 but was met with many challenges, especially during the height of the pandemic.”

The surprise announcement punctuates an exhausting 16 months that began in March 2020 with the resignation of Spring, hundreds of layoffs and a failed search for a new leader. At that time, Spring was among the top paid school superintendents in the region, earning $204,061 annually.

Earlier this year, contract negotiations with his would-be successor Pedro Roman, the finalist in a search spearheaded by Capital Region BOCES, fell apart. Roman, a former Schenectady administrator, is an assistant superintendent in the Newburgh Enlarged City School District.

That situation prompted conversations among board members about whether an open, closed or hybrid search was the best search approach. It was unclear if the district ever solicited public response during the latest search.

And while the search for Roman became public, the search that resulted in Soler’s selection stayed quiet until the decision was made.

Soler, according to his Linkedin profile, has served since January 2020 as the superintendent of the Batavia school district.

His online resume shows that before that, he was an assistant superintendent in Buffalo’s public school system. Soler also has worked in the Rochester city school district.

He says in a statement on his profile that he has “enjoyed every moment” of his 20 years in education.

“In every position I have held, I have been able to deliver results and bring about positive change,” Soler said. “I often say, ‘I’m Living the Dream!’ because I truly love what I do.”

Aaron Bochniak, who has led the Schenectady district since March 25, 2020, is leaving to take a job as an assistant superintendent with the Hamilton-fulton-montgomery BOCES. His last day is Aug. 31.

Outgoing school board President John Foley as well as his colleagues, Bernice Rivera, Ann Reilly, Princella Learry and Cathy Lewis did not return calls Friday. Board member Nohelani Etienne could not be reached.

Andy Chestnut, who lost his reelection bid last month, said in an email Friday that Soler has “many fine qualities,” including being fluent in Spanish and English.

He said that would benefit the district in two ways: “(F) irst, he’ll be able to discuss with and learn from the concerns of many of SCSD’S non-englishspeaking families, and second, he’ll have a better understanding of how it feels for SCSD families to live and send their kids to school in an environment where the ‘common language’ presents a barrier for them.”

Asked about community input from faculty, staff and the public during the search that culminated in Soler’s selection, Chestnut said that work was done during the earlier part of the search and that “the community was involved appropriately.”

“The reality is that we involved the public in terms of massive surveys and community input about what they were looking for in a superintendent, and that hasn’t changed in the last year, so we didn’t redo that work,” he said. “I’m proud of what’s been accomplished and other people are going to have their own points of view.”