Supe Finalists Don’t ​“Blow Away” Harp

Mayor Toni Harp remains to be convinced whether any of the six out-of-town finalists to become New Haven’s next schools superintendent has the right stuff for the job.

“I wasn’t blown away by any of them,” Harp said on her latest appearance on WNHH radio’s ​“Mayor Monday” program. ​“I would have to meet them personally to get a sense.”

As a member of the Board of Education, she will get the chance to do that in coming weeks. The Board of Ed, which has spent months squabbling over process in the superintendent search, has agreed to select a new superintendent by Nov. 20. The school system has been without a superintendent since last October, when the board pushed out Garth Harries. Retired Superintendent Reggie Mayo has served in an interim capacity since then.

An outside search firm came up with the list of six finalists, including former Bridgeport Harding High School Principal and current Hartford schools Chief of Staff Carol Birks; and Orlando Ramos, superintendent for high schools in Milwaukee (who this year unsuccessfully sought top schools posts in Detroit and St. Paul, Minn.).

None of the finalists lives in New Haven —for now. But in coming days, school board members plan to consider adding to the final interview schedule from a list of seven Connecticut-based applicants, including former Beecher School Principal and Hamden High School Principal and current Hamden human resources chief Gary Highsmith, and current New Haven public school administrators Dolores Garcia-Blocker, Ilene Tracy, and Richard Therrien.

“When I looked at [the six finalists], it was one of the reasons I wondered why they didn’t select anyone form New Haven,” Harp said. ​“People don’t appreciate what we do in New Haven and the fact that we are really ahead of many districts in terms of our restorative practices, our social emotional [policy].

“If you really want to fix New Haven public schools, I’m sure there isn’t this gap between minorities and the overall population, the achievement gap, you really need to have someobdy who knows how to do that. I’m not convinced by looking at resumes that we have somebody who knows how to do that, to be honest.”

Board of Education President Ed Joyner disagreed with Harp’s take. He said the search team relied on standards by the American Association of School Administrators in vetting applicants.

“As a person who has worked with superintendents in 29 states and some of the best ones in the country, I think that many of people in the final sweep are exceptional,” Joyner said. ​“I don’t know how she arrived at her conclusion. I don’t know where she got her expertise from in terms of choosing superintendents.”

Tip Of Hat To Ganim

On ​“Mayor Monday,” Harp fielded a question from a listener about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Ganim: ​“If Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim asked Mayor Harp to be on his ticket as lieutenant governor, would she consider it?”

Harp did not respond with a ​“yes” or a ​“no.”

“I honestly haven’t really thought about any of that right now. I’m running for mayor. I think being mayor is one of the most interesting jobs in the country. I love my job and I’d like to keep it. We get to do cool things,” she responded.

And would she ask Ganim to serve as her running mate if she were to ever run for governor?

“You know, he’s very popular in Bridgeport,” Harp responded. ​“If I was running for governor, I’d have to look at who helps out.”

Harp and Ganim have developed a close working relationship in recent months, preparing a two-city bid for an Amazon corporate headquarters, backing a proposal for a waterfront casino in Bridgeport, and unveiling Monday a 30-second commercial touting Bridgehaven (the Independent’s word, not theirs) to employers looking for new corporate homes.

Click on or download the above audio file, or click on the Facebook Live video below, for the full episode of WNHH FM’s ​“Mayor Monday” program.

This episode of ​“Mayor Monday” was made possible with the support of Gateway Community College and Berchem Moses P.C.