Super Search Committee Ahead of Schedule
By Chris Seymour | Correspondent at January 14, 2024 | 6:00 pm | Print
Though he was supposed to stay on board through the end of the school year, Superintendent of Schools Kelt Cooper has resigned, effective today (Friday, Jan. 15).
Paul Salina, the Consolidated School District of New Britain’s Chief Operations Officer, has been named Acting Superintendent while the BOE continues its search (which will be completed in March or April) for a new superintendent.
“Mr. Cooper and the board came to a mutual agreement regarding his early resignation through a contract addendum which does several things,” explained BOE President Sharon Beloin Saavedra earlier this week.
Those things include paying Cooper’s salary through May 15, continuing his healthcare through June, and providing a letter of recommendation signed by BOE member Nick Mercier, according to Beloin Saavedra, who also said the addendum contains “a non-disparaging clause.”
The Board of Education voted to amend Cooper’s contract on Thursday, Jan. 7. A school system press release released this week notes that Cooper will maintain his salary from Jan. 15 – May 15 at the rate of $65,956.78 and that rate “will be subject to proper deductions, including health care, which the district will cover through the end of June.” Cooper will also be paid for sick time that wasn’t used, which totals $2,701, adds the release.
Salina will remain Acting Superintendent “for an indefinite amount of time, subject to approval from the State Department of Education,” continued the release, which added that Salina was offered a $5,000 stipend as compensation for his increased roles and responsibilities as acting superintendent; however, Salina instead asked that the money be given directly to New Britain High School to establish a new scholarship fund for graduating seniors.
“I am happy to serve the students, families and staff of the New Britain School District in any capacity which will allow for the continued improvement in the educational opportunities offered to our students,” Salina said in the release. “I am grateful to the Board of Education for their support and confidence.”
Last fall, the Board of Education (BOE) voted to appoint itself as the “superintendent search committee” and chose not to enlist the services of a search firm, which can cost upwards of $20,000-$24,000.
“The search process is on time and possibly prime for being ahead of schedule,” Beloin Saavedra told The City Journal on Monday. “This month the Board and two interview committees will develop interview questions and review interview protocols. Candidate interviews are scheduled for mid-February. The BOE is scheduled to make our appointment in April.”
In the school system press release (dated Tuesday, Jan. 12), Beloin Saavedra said that the search process may be able to culminate in March, a month earlier than the targeted deadline of April; in all, the position saw 14 individuals apply, with 12 meeting the minimum standards set by the Board of Education.
Also this week, it was announced that the Board of Education has formed an external interview committee for the superintendent search that consists of 10 people who come from various backgrounds throughout the city; in total, 30 people requested to participate and the Board of Education narrowed the list from there, according to another school system press release, which added the committee consists of parents of children at all school levels, community members and professionals.
City schools are currently seeking a new superintendent because BOE members voted last spring to not renew the contract (which expires in June) of Cooper. At the time, Beloin Saavedra said of Cooper—who has been superintendent since July 2012—”many BOE members felt his leadership style had run its course.”
“The Board appreciates and values the ideas brought to us from Mr. Cooper,” stated Beloin Saavedra in the press release pertaining to Cooper’s early departure. “This includes neighborhood schools, an improved way of monitoring and tracking graduation progress and ELD. The Board wishes Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, along with their family, all the best in the next leg of their journey.”
