District Lays Out Hiring Plan, Seeks Community Input

The Katonah Lewisboro school district plans to involve a variety of stakeholders in the hiring of four high-level administrators—including other administrators, teachers, parents and school board members.

Officials have advertised for the positions in the New York Times, among other publications, and hope to pre-screen applicant resumes, conduct phone interviews and invite potential candidates to the district to meet with hiring committees, which will vary by position, said Superintendent of Schools Paul Kreutzer at the April 24 school board meeting.

In addition, Kreutzer has agreed to at which he'll receive input from members of the school district community on the searches for the positions: Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, High School Principal, Director of Technology, and Supervisor of Transportation.

The "listening session" will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on May 3 at the library.

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Kreutzer hopes to have most of the new staff hired by June, he said. On the potential candidates to replace high school , he said they would wait for the right person.

"If we don't find the right candidate, we will not fill this position," he said. "We'll get an interim [principal] and not compromise quality at this point." 

The district will also be saying goodbye to Richard Cogswell, who is retiring from his position as assistant director of school facilities at the end of the year. School board president Mark Lipton recognized his contributions to the district and said he was a "pillar of the community."

Cogswell is a 1976 John Jay graduate and held an array of job titles in his 36 years with the district, from custodian to buildings and grounds superintendent to his current positions of managing the print warehouse of the district. He lives with his wife, Nancy, who also graduated from John Jay, in Cross River.

"He is an unsung hero and the backbone of who we are," said board member Mike Gordon. Board member Janet Harckham said Cogswell was key to the district's sustainability efforts. "He is aware of every piece of paper we use."