The Newburgh Enlarged City School District’s search for a new superintendent ended last week when the Board of Education unanimously voted to appoint current Acting Superintendent Ralph Pizzo to replace former Superintendent Dr. Annette Saturnelli, who passed away in December.

The decision was made after Pizzo brought a proposal before the school board during a workshop meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Citing the recent news from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo about further cuts to education, Pizzo said that he and other school officials had been working diligently to find ways to reduce the negative effects the cuts would have on the school district.

Although he had not publicly expressed interest in the position before, Pizzo said he would accept the position of superintendent at a $13,000 reduction in salary and was willing to leave the position of deputy superintendent vacant at this time of fiscal crises (a savings of more than $250,000) His new contract as superintendent is effective now through June 30, 2014.

Pizzo has worked for the Newburgh school district for the past 42 years, holding various positions during his tenure including teacher, assistant principal, principal and deputy superintendent. While he admits that serving as superintendent is something he has thought about for a long time, he didn’t plan to make his intentions known until he applied at the appropriate time along with all other candidates for the position.

“However, I became very concerned with money and [next year’s] budget and I thought I should let my intentions be known sooner,” he said about his change of heart.

The news of the appointment may come as a shock to some community members, especially those who attended a January meeting hosted by search consultants from School Leadership, LLC, a firm hired by the Newburgh school board last year when Saturnelli announced she would be retiring in June. During the meeting, school district residents were asked to identify the qualities and experiences they would like the new schools chief to possess.

One of the residents in attendance was Bennett Weiss. The parent of two Newburgh Free Academy graduates admits he has nothing against Pizzo but said he is disappointed that the expensive search was not followed through.

“Everybody seemed to express that they wanted a visionary with fresh ideas,” Weiss said. “Many even used the phrase, ‘not a good ol’ boy.’ Ralph Pizzo is a very nice man but he is the goodest and ol’est boy of them all.”

In a statement, school board President Dawn Fucheck expressed her satisfaction with the appointment and defended the Board of Education’s decision to cancel the nationwide search.

“In addition to his proposal addressing our current fiscal crisis we also realized that Mr. Pizzo had all of the qualities and characteristics that had been put forth in a profile created by our superintendent search consultants,” she said. “He has been a resident of Newburgh his entire life and is very familiar with the workings of our District and the community as a whole. We look forward to working with him as he leads our district to new heights.”

For his part, Pizzo had no comment on how the search was conducted saying it was the school board’s decision. Right now, he said his focus is to continue the final stages of the school district’s reconfiguration plan and put together a budget that is fair to both taxpayers and students.

“It’s going to be difficult,” he said. “Money is tight and we’re going to have to make some very hard decisions. The goal is to make decisions that will have the least impact on the hard pressed taxpayer and still provide a quality education for our students. I think we can do it.”

By Jessica McAleese
jmcaleese@tcnewspapers.com