Aliyya Swaby Photo
Gomes: Hire Brown.
Hill Central Music Academy teachers asked the Board of Education to approve their favorite candidate for the school’s assistant principal, instead of the candidate Superintendent Garth Harries chose.
They spoke up at the public discussion portion of Monday night’s regular board meeting held at L.W. Beecher School. They argued that Nicole Brown, Hill Central’s academic leader, should be promoted to its assistant principal.
Harries had asked the board to approve Clinton Avenue School administrative intern Yesenia Velez for the position.
Board of Ed members decided to postpone making that decision. They did approve hiring eight administrators and dozens of teachers. They held an hour-long closed executive session before the meeting began at 5:30 p.m.; last week they kept the public waiting three hours with another executive session. Mayor Toni Harp, the board’s president, had to leave soon after the public meeting began, leaving her second-in-command Alicia Caraballo as acting president.
Hill Central improved academically and socially this year, moving up and off the state’s list of turnaround schools, which need extra support.
“We can’t keep having new faces all the time,” Hill Central teacher Paola Gomes argued at Monday’s meeting. She said Brown would provide the “consistency” to keep the school’s progress going.
Harries said Brown received “strong recommendations from the school team” put together to carry out the talent search. He said he wanted to hire Velez for the position because she has “done extraordinarily well” working at Clinton Avenue School and on “districtwide projects,” including summer school and the new Saturday Academy.
Hill Central’s committee also recommended Velez for the position, he said, “not as highly as Ms. Brown, but still recommended.”
He said that when the “dust settles” with leadership hires and transfers, there could be room for other qualified candidates in other positions.
Harries asked board members to continue the conversation in executive session, so they wouldn’t subject either candidate to unnecessary public scrutiny. Board members agreed — but then couldn’t stop themselves from continuing the discussion at the meeting.
Acting President Caraballo said it was “disrespectful” to the candidates to have public disagreements about whether they would be hired. Velez, she said, “impressed” her and she didn’t realize the school committee wanted a different candidate.
Knowing that, Harries should have consulted with the board and informed them of the resistance, she said.
“This is one I will not support,” she said.
“It’s not fair to the board to be put in this position,” said board member Ed Joyner. He asked whether Harries had ever before “disallowed the choice” of the school committee.
“Sometimes yes,” Harries responded.
Board member Darnell Goldson asked Harries to bring a synopsis of how any hiring decisions are made, in future meetings.
Other Hires
Nast, Joyner.
Board members Monday night approved 5 – 1 hiring human resources chief Donna Aiello as an assistant principal at Worthington Hooker Elementary School, as well as Lisa Mack as acting director of human resources & labor relations. Joyner voted no on both decisions.
He said he voted no against Aiello as Hooker assistant principal, in part because a dispute over her salary, set at $137,672. Aiello’s role in central office should not count toward her “longevity payment,” which boosts her school leadership salary based on 25 years of experience, he argued.
Joyner said Aiello would be eligible for the payment only if she had spent years as an assistant principal, not as HR director.
Goldson argued the opposite, that Aiello is eligible for the higher salary. But he asked board members to add a contingency to her hire: If the administrators union and district leaders agree Aiello gets the higher salary, she does. If not, she doesn’t.
Aiello’s and Mack’s hires will save about $128,000 for the district, Goldson said. Mack was the assistant HR director under Aiello; that position is likely being cut, saving about $103,000. Though outside candidates are being considered for the director position, Mack is a strong contender.
As acting HR director, Mack is making $125,000, about $18,000 less than budgeted for the position, Goldson said. And Aiello agreed to a $7,000 cut to her salary at Hooker School.
Without discussion, the board also agreed to six other administrative hires and transfers. John Tarka was approved as Hillhouse High School assistant principal with a salary of $112,043. Eric Barbarito was transferred from Ross/Woodward Magnet School to Hillhouse assistant principal. Mary Derwin was transferred from Dr. Mayo Early Childhood Learning Center to Edgewood Magnet School assistant principal. Tianko Ellison was transferred from Wexler/Grant School to Ross/Woodward assistant principal, taking Barbarito’s place. Nicholas Perrone was transferred from Hillhouse to Wexler/Grant assistant principal, to fill Ellison’s position. Garfield Pilliner was transferred from Hillhouse to Wilbur Cross High School assistant principal.