Debbie Cylke?
Valley Breeze and Times hinted!
New superintendent may not be decided on until next week
PAWTUCKET - School Committee members, who were set to meet last night, June 15, to again discuss the hiring of a new school superintendent, told The Breeze in advance they would not be making a final decision. There are two final candidates in play for the local district's top administrative position, according to committee members who say they may not be able to announce their final selection until sometime next week. "We're very close to the finish line," said School Committee Chairman James Chellel Jr. "We're approaching the end." Sources have confirmed that one of the top two candidates is a woman who currently serves as superintendent for secondary education at a school district in Reno, Nev., but School Committee members said that a report in The Times last Friday that Debbie Cylke has been offered and accepted the position as laid out is "very premature." No one has agreed to the terms of any contract yet, said Chellel and negotiating team member David Coughlin, though talks over a final contract are ongoing. Coughlin maintains that the hiring process is being conducted behind closed doors so as to protect the candidates' privacy and perhaps even continued employment somewhere else. "There's someone who's doing too much damn talking," said Coughlin, who said making claims of a final hiring before it is actually done are highly inappropriate. On the agenda for the close-door portion of last night's meeting were: * A discussion of a superintendent search compensation package/contract; * And the process and procedure for hiring the next superintendent. Actual hiring of a new school chief was not on the docket for last night's meeting, nor was an announcement. Several School Committee members have indicated their satisfaction with both final candidates for superintendent, saying either one will be a "great asset" to the local district. The apparent agreement between members is a rarity in Pawtucket, where, among many other disagreements, school board members have argued all along the way on how the superintendent selection process should go.
