Morse picks four more leadership team members
The School Committee will consider the superintendent's selections for reorganization when it meets in August.
By Kelley Bouchard kbouchard@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
PORTLAND — Superintendent Jim Morse has chosen four additional people to take top spots in the new leadership team that he's developing to oversee the city's public schools, according to the superintendent's office.
The School Committee will consider the following appointments when it meets in August:
• Michael Wilson of Falmouth has been named to the new position of chief financial officer, with a yearly salary of $110,000. He is a certified public accountant and lawyer who formerly held positions with Pierce Atwood in Portland and Coopers & Lybrand in Springfield, Mass., according to the superintendent's office. Currently a financial consultant, Wilson's experience includes municipal assessment, tax litigation and financial oversight.
• Bonnie Violette, who was hired earlier this summer as a consultant, has agreed to stay on as one of two special education coordinators in the district. Violette is currently special education administrator in Westbrook public schools and has held various teaching and administrative positions in several Maine school districts. She has a bachelor's degree in communication disorders anthropology and three master's degrees: in educational leadership, in communication disorders and in computer technology in education. Her annual salary will be $105,000. The other special education coordinator will be Chris Kaufman, the district's lead school psychologist, whose annual salary will be $87,628. Violette and Kaufman will assume the duties of Barbara Dee, former special education director, whose position was eliminated following a negative review of Portland's special education programs.
• Daniel Chuhta of Portland has accepted the new position of science and math curriculum coordinator, with a yearly salary of $78,911. He is the state's training coordinator for a new system that tracks individual student performance over multiple years. His background includes teaching science at Massabesic Junior High School in Waterboro from 2000 to 2005. He has a master's degree in curriculum development and instructional technology. He will work closely with Mary Capobianco, who earlier this summer accepted the new position of language arts and humanities curriculum coordinator, with a yearly salary of $84,000.
• Jerry Blazek has accepted the position of human resources coordinator, with a yearly salary of $82,000. He has been director of human resources, labor relations and affirmative action at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Conn., since 2004. His experience dates to the 1970s, when he was director of employment training administration for the Board of Commissioners in Athens County, Ohio. He was director of personnel and labor relations for the Ohio Department of Mental Health from 1981 to 1986, and director of labor relations and human resource information systems at the University of Southern Maine from 1986 to 2003. He's expected to develop an effective system to track salaries, benefits and other information about the district's nearly 1,200 employees.
Several administrative positions were eliminated to make way for these appointments.
Morse, who became superintendent one year ago, has said that the reorganization of central office staff won't increase administrative costs.
In June, Morse appointed David Galin to the new position of chief academic officer. Galin was curriculum director of School Administrative District 51 in Cumberland and North Yarmouth for the past six years.
Morse has yet to hire someone to fill the new position of chief operations officer.
Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:
kbouchard@pressherald.com
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4 COMMENTS
homeboy said...
So who will be held accountable when things go wrong in the Portland School Department? Certainly not Mr. Morse, who has surrounded himself (compliments of the school board spending our hard-earned money) with high paid flunkies to be the fall guys. "Oh no, I'm not in charge of that, he/she is" he will say, so off with their heads, and give me another fat raise because I am doing such a good job. Name another community in the state that has this many upper level management types in its' school system. Oh, I'm sorry, Kelly Bouchard is too busy simply printing Mr. Morses and Senator All-Funs press releases to actually do any reporting, which, by the way Kelly, involves investigative journalism, also known as digging for data/facts. It must get lonely sitting by yourself in the company lunchroom because your co-workers are nauseated by your almost complete lack of professionalism.
July 30, 2010 at 7:49 AM Report abuse
henryelm said...
Homeboy. IF you want a well run school system, like it or not you HAVE to have administrators( someone in charge) and you have to be willing to pay them. Please note in the last 10 years due to the "ending spending crowd" defund taj mal mentality, we LOST administrators. The result was NO ONE was in charge or "responsible and everyone was overworked. Also note it takes 2 (TWO) people to replace what Dee was expected to do on her own. Maybe, just maybe, it can be done right now. And also note the anti spenders seem to be suddenly silent and supporting these changes BY their silence. Maybe they figured out(too late) the error of their ways and that there is a price to pay by being cheap. Schools don't run themselves( just like businesses don't run themselves) They need direction AND leadership. Isn't their sudden silence "interesting"? No more "we are top heavy" etc . Let's see who they will "BLAME" next.
July 30, 2010 at 9:28 AM Report abuse
henryelm said...
interesting that 4/5 new administrators are men in a schools system with 80% female staff. Maybe it was women that the anti spending crowd had a problem with!!!
July 30, 2010 at 9:36 AM Report abuse
homeboy said...
henryelm, First, let me point out that I am not among the "ending spending" crowd that you mention. I am a parent of a young person entering Deering this fall who has been in the Portland School system from day one. I have been impressed with the education that my child has received, despite attending classes in a trailer with a moldy roof, and despite having virtually no resources in the classroom except those that had to begged from the parents. I have also been impressed with the administration of each of my childs schools, and their willingness to work to bring the schools together for the best educational outcome. What I have not been impressed with in the slightest has been the top adminstrators in the Portland School Department, nor with many of the individuals serving on the School Board, and the way that both groups treat the public at School Board meetings. If I wanted to be treated like a leper, I would have joined a leper colony. Morse---wrong person for the job.
July 30, 2010 at 12:43 PM Report abuse