Melissa Bailey File Photos
Mayo: Relief pitcher warms up in bullpen.
Candidate Therrien.
Retired Superintendent Reggie Mayo has emerged as one of five candidates to run the public schools through next summer as the Board of Education seeks a permanent replacement for departing chief Garth Harries.
Applications were due Friday for candidates for the position of interim superintendent, who will not be eligible for the permanent position.
Besides Mayo, the other candidates who submitted applications are: Richard Therrien, the school system’s K‑12 science supervisor; Paul Smotas, who has served as interim superintendent of the New Hartford public schools; Wayne Alexander, a former out-of-state superintendent who has also worked in the Hartford schools ; and Andrew Rynberg.
Board of Ed member Darnell Goldson, who’s overseeing the search committee, said the goal is to decide on an interim superintendent by Oct. 24, at the latest: “The idea is to get a person in as soon as possible so there can be some transition between them and Garth.” Harries is set to leave office under an approximately $200,000 severance deal he reached with the board two weeks ago. Interviews are set to begin on Monday.
Mayo, who could not be reached for comment for this story, ran the school system for 21 years before retiring on July 1, 2013.
He had been in discussions with Mayor Toni Harp about a possible return even before Harries finally decided to leave.
The return would be temporary: The goal would be to have Mayo serve as a late-innings relief pitcher, a veteran with extensive relationships and a deep knowledge of the system to keep the schools running and reform plans proceeding until a permanent successor is found. (Read about Mayo’s career here.)
The city named a new pre‑K school on Goffe Street after Mayo. A formal dedication had been planned for this past Sunday; as Mayo began formally applying for the post, the date of the event was postponed until the end of the month, by which point the interim hiring decision is expected to have been made.
Mayo had served as a mentor to Harries when Harries came to town in 2009 to serve as deputy superintendent in charge of school change (aka school reform). Mayo, who worked his way up through the public schools over 46 years, provided needed support for Harries to develop new ideas. When Harries ascended to the superintendent’s job, he no longer had that daily back-up. And his support gradually crumbled.
When the Independent first reported that Mayo was under consideration for the interim post, readers offered a range of views (in this comments thread). Some argued that the schools should break with the past. On WNHH radio’s weekly “Pundit Friday” news-in-review program, Babz Rawls-Ivy, editor of the Inner-City News, noted those concerns but argued that in a short-term bridge role, Mayo “can be a calming presence” amid an upheaval in the school system.
Click on or download the above sound file to hear the full episode of WNHH radio’s “Pundit Friday.”
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Harries at a recent board meeting.