School District Seeks Leader

By Bob Gardinier, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

Dec. 7–TROY — City school officials will again try next month to find a permanent superintendent.

In July 2005, the school board picked former Albany Schools Superintendent Lonnie Palmer as interim superintendent, but his contract expires June 30, 2007.

He replaced Raymond Colucciello, who had been interim superintendent since January 2005 after former district chief Armand Reo retired a month earlier.

The Enlarged City School District’s Board of Education announced Wednesday that it will begin a search for its next superintendent on January 1.

James Baldwin, Questar III BOCES superintendent, will head the search, district spokeswoman Caroline Boardman said.

During the early summer of 2005, when Colucciello held the post, board members met often, struggling with their decision on whom to hire.

The search was narrowed to two contenders: Lester McDowell, who had been a principal and deputy superintendent in Brooklyn, and Joseph Dragone, principal of Cohoes Middle School.

Boardman said she was not sure whether the two are still in contention. “We are reviewing candidates who applied during the previous round,” Boardman said.

The district is also welcoming any new applicants, she said.

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