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Hartford School Board Rounds Out Search Committee

13-Member Panel To Begin Interviewing Internal Candidates Next Week For Superintendent Job

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

February 02, 2011

HARTFORD — — The school board has picked the final members of its superintendent search committee just a few weeks before the board expects to vote on a successor to Steven Adamowski.

Precious Ross-Ellis, a Weaver High School parent-teacher organization president and businesswoman, rounds out the 13-member panel that is expected to begin interviewing internal candidates the week of Feb. 7.

In addition, Parkville Community School Principal Elizabeth Michaelis has been replaced on the committee by Stacey McCann, principal of the Asian Studies Academy at Dwight-Bellizzi. Board Chairwoman Ada Miranda said Monday that Michaelis had withdrawn from the committee for "personal reasons."

Michaelis could not be reached for comment.

Despite some delays, Miranda said the board still plans to vote on a new superintendent at its Feb. 15 meeting. Assistant Superintendent Christina Kishimoto, who oversees secondary schools and school redesign, and Greater Hartford Classical Magnet School Principal Tim Sullivan have both said that they intend to be candidates for the job.

Miranda said she didn't yet know how many applications were submitted by Friday's deadline. If the board doesn't pick an internal candidate, a national search would begin mid-February.

The board had originally planned on finalizing its search committee on Dec. 21. But some residents raised objections about the racial composition of the panel, arguing that there was a lack of African American representation among the board's four recommended appointees from the schools and community. One of those appointees was Michaelis.

Last month, the board voted to add an additional parent to the committee to address what Miranda called a "misunderstanding." The board announced Ross-Ellis' selection on Friday.

Eight of nine board members are also on the search panel.