Yes folks, there are professionals looking for positions….
New schools super starts Monday
BY KURT MOFFETT REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
Francine Coss signs paperwork Wednesday night, officially making her Superintendent of the Thomaston School District. Erin Covey / Republican-American
THOMASTON — The Board of Education hired a new superintendent of schools Wednesday.
Francine Coss, 44, of East Haven was unanimously selected by the board. She replaces Lynda J. Mitchell, who retired last week, and will start her new job on Monday. Coss has been the school superintendent in Columbia for the last four years.
Board Chairman Ruthann H. Fianer said board members like that Coss is coming from a small school district. Columbia has only one school for pre-kindergarten through grade eight, with a projected student enrollment in 2013-14 of 462 pupils and an annual budget of nearly $11.5 million.
Thomaston has three schools for kindergarten through grade 12, a projected enrollment of 967 students and a $14.4 million budget.
Fianer said board members thought she did well in her interviews with the board and were impressed with her knowledge of the superintendent’s position. “We are very happy to have her aboard in Thomaston,” Fianer said.
There were 21 applicants for the job, the search committee interviewed seven of them and Coss was among the three finalists, board member Kathleen Freimuth said. Fianer said Coss will start at an annual salary of $138,000, plus a $5,000 annuity.
This is good news. The fact that there were 21 applicants for the superintendent’s job in Thomaston, which is nearby, gives the lie to those board members and administrators who claim that Region 1 MUST give raises every year and extended contracts otherwise our top administrators will leave and we won’t find any “quality” replacements who will want to come here. The public is demanding new educational leadership in Region 1. It’s good to know there are a lot of eager and qualified candidates out there to choose from.
–Gale Courey Toensing
And I’m willing to bet a majority of those candidates would do better than our current administration. Then again, several superintendents who were “forced out of their position” would probably still do better.
Rumor has it the principal never had tenure, and the assistant superintendent had problems at her old job. Even the pupil personnel administrator, Mr Gross is questionable. What kind of person would hire such individuals? You seriously have to question her judgment.