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The Board of Education voted last night to appoint Dr. Susan Marks as the next Superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools. The board voted 7 to 0 with Migdalia Rivas abstaining after she challenged her colleagues on the search process. One member, Heidi Keyes, was absent due to health issues. Marks appointment comes 10 months after the departure of Salvatore Corda, the previous Superintendent.
Marks is currently the Associate Superintendent for Human Resources for the public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. Dr. Marks has a broad spectrum of experience in education, from special education to human resources, said BOE Chair Glenn Iaonnaccone in an interview just before the vote. Shes compassionate and strong, just what our district needs.
I am excited about the opportunity and want to get to know Norwalks children, said Marks in a telephone interview speaking from her office. Its a great match for me. Im looking forward to putting together a great team and getting to work.
The vote on Marks came after a report about a site visit that was made to Montgomery County to get firsthand information about Marks. A five member delegation from Norwalk spent two days in March meeting Marks colleagues including her present boss, Jerry D. Weast, the Superintendent of Montgomery County schools.
There was a consistent message from everyone that we spoke to that Dr. Marks is incredibly hard working, collaborative, highly visible, and centered around what is best for children, said Ivette Ellis, the Principal of Silvermine Elementary who traveled to Maryland to vet Marks. Board member Susan Hamilton agreed. It was great to see the energy down there and watch her colleagues celebrate this woman. Her sensitivity, strength, and courage. Board Member Halsey said that Montgomery County is 38 percent white. "Marks welcomes diversity, she understands diversity," she said. Other members of the Norwalk delegation included BOE member Susan Daignault, a Kindergarten teacher at Naramake, and Katherine Williams, a parent. The group has not yet prepared a formal report but said that one would be posted shortly to the NPS website.
Board member Sue Haynie noted that Montgomery County was selected last week as one of five finalists for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, a prestigious honor awarded each year to urban school districts that demonstrate student achievement while reducing achievement gaps.
Prior to the vote, there was a heated discussion about Marks candidacy during which board member Migdalia Rivas voiced her concerns about the process that was used to recruit and screen candidates. She expressed concern that the Board interviewed fewer than 10 candidates and spoke about the lack of community involvement.
My problem is not with the candidate but the process, she said alternating between English and Spanish as she made her remarks. The Board did not address the concerns of the community, she said referring to the nearly 90 feedback forms that were filled out after the community forum with Marks that was held in March. According to Rivas, the Board did not discuss its contents as a group. "We did not discuss the forms. What was the purpose of the community forms? To read them privately to ourselves?"
However, Board Chair Glenn Iannaccone said that he read through every submission and he saw very few negative comments. Susan Hamilton added that the site visit team used many of the comments as the basis for questions that they asked during their trip to Maryland. Board member Steve Colarossi said that Ms. Rivas had every opportunity to raise these issues during the Boards Executive Session. Mayor Moccia, who is an ex-officio member of the BOE, said that there was no way to make everyone happy. Just before the vote, Board member Jody Bishop-Pullan tried to end the discussion on a conciliatory note, We are bringing her here. We all have to be on board and behind her.
The next step is for a contract to be negotiated between Marks and the BOE. The talks will be led by Iannaccone who said that he has formed a compensation committee of community members with experience in hiring executives to help him put together a package for Marks.
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