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Covering the news of Greenwich, Connecticut
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Breaking News
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The School board voted unanimously this morning to appoint Sidney Freund as the new Superintendent of Schools. He will replace outgoing superintendent Betty Sternberg beginning July 1.
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Behind The Times:
Where's The Greenwich Time? Greenwich Roundup Published The Board Of Education Press Release At 8:28 AM The Greenwich Post Has Just Published The First Article At 10:19 AM But The Hearst Newspapers (The Greenwich Time And Greenwich Citizen Are Dark And Silent) |
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UPDATE:
Over 4 Hours Behind Greenwich Roundup
Over Two Hours Behind The Greenwich Post
Greenwich school board selects veteran Scarsdale, N.Y. administrator as superintendent
By Colin Gustafson Staff Writer
Posted: 05/14/2009 12:31:31 PM EDT
GREENWICH -- The Greenwich school board unanimously elected Sidney Freund, a superintendent for 26 years, as the next town schools chief at an emergency meeting Thursday morning.
Freund, a resident of Scarsdale, N.Y., has worked as an educator in various New York State school districts for 39 years, and has held four different superintendent positions in his career. He most recently worked in the Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. sshool district
He is expected to take the helm in Greenwich on July 1, the day after outgoing superintendent Betty Sternberg is expected to step down at the completion of her three-year contract.
In selecting Freund for the post, board members cited his close proximity to town, his experience managing budgets and his ability to work with community members as superintendent.
"We feel very fortunate to have found in Dr. Sidney Freund an outstanding educational leader who is truly committed to meeting the educational needs of each and every student," said board chair Nancy Weissler.
Freund said he is committed to staying in the district for an extensive period of time and now plans to meet with town officials and community members to get a better understanding of the district prior to taking over.
In his new job, Freund will earn a salary of $230,000, with allowances for travel.
Wait A Minute:
Greenwich Time Education Reporter Colin Gustafson Had 4 Hours To Put Together A Story About The News Superintendent And The Whole Story Is Seven Sentences Long.
Give Us A Break That's Over 3o Minutes A Sentence. It Looks Like Colin Has Been Taking Some Real Long Coffee Breaks.
UPDATE #2
The Greenwich Time Can't Keep Time
Extra Extra
Read All About It
Colin Gustafson Has A Time Machine
Almost 14 Hours After Greenwich Roundup's Original Post Greenwich Time Education Reporter Colin Gustafson Finally Files A Full Story, But Back Dates It So That Hearst Newspaper Editor David McCumber Thinks That Colin Filed The Story First....
Greenwich selects veteran administrator as superintendent
By Colin Gustafson Staff Writer
Posted: 05/14/2009 09:52:13 AM EDT
The school board unanimously elected a veteran administrator who has held four superintendent posts in New York state as the next town schools chief.
Sidney Freund, 62, has worked as an educator in various New York state school districts for 39 years. He most recently worked in the Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., school district, a position he held until 2006.
The Scarsdale, N.Y., resident is expected to take the helm in Greenwich on July 1, the day after current Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg steps down at the completion of her three-year contract.
In selecting Freund, Board of Education members Thursday cited his proximity to town, a knowledge of school district operations and finances, and his experience working closely with various school constituencies.
"This is a guy who knows education," said board Chairwoman Nancy Weissler. "We're very fortunate to have him, and I hope the Greenwich community will be welcoming him, as well -- as they should."
Freund plans to be a visible presence at Greenwich schools, sporting events and other public forums to get the strongest sense of what's on the minds of parents, educators and other community members.
"I'm somebody who likes to be in the stands at the basketball game, on the sidelines at the football game," he said. "I want people to seek me out. You learn more that way."
Freund hopes to remain in Greenwich for some time to come -- a desire that could go a long way toward easing public concerns about a lack of continuity in the superintendent's office.
The last three -- Roger Lulow, Larry Leverett and Sternberg -- have all served single, three-year terms before leaving. Some fear the turnover has taken a toll on the quality of public education.
"I'd like to be here beyond (the three-year contract)," Freund said. "I have a daughter who's a sophomore in high school, so I've got four years of college to pay for and, hell, maybe graduate school, too, so I'll be here for a while."
Freund will make $230,000, plus $250 a month in compensation for travel costs, according to the school board. Sternberg's total paycheck is more than $290,000, including a travel allowance of $1,000 per month.
To save money in a tight budget season, board members said they also eliminated a variety of other allowances that were part of Sternberg's contract -- including $24,000 per year for housing; $8,000 to cover moving costs in the first year and $25,000 in so-called transition costs in the first year; and an annual performance bonus up to $15,000, pending board approval.
"We have been able to negotiate a contract that is competitive with comparable Fairfield County districts, fiscally responsible in light of the current economic environment and carries a lower overall cost of the contract," said school board member Steve Anderson, who was also chairman of the search committee.
The school board also will be able to vote on whether it wants to renew the superintendent's three-year contract at the end of the second year, a provision that doesn't exist in Sternberg's contract, said Anderson. As another safeguard in the contract, the superintendent will be required to give at least 120-days notice of plans to step down.
The board started its search in November with a search committee comprising all eight board members and then hiring the international search consultant Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates Ltd. to recruit and screen candidates.
After sending out community surveys and hosting two forums to gather public input, the consultant released a 12-page "Leadership Profile Report" in February that outlined the feedback it had received on preferred traits in the next superintendent.
Following that, however, the board conducted all of its interviews behind closed doors.
To keep their deliberations secret, members even created informal code names -- Freund was dubbed "Mr. Tuesday" or "Mr. T," as he was interviewed on a Tuesday -- to ensure that the proceedings would not leak out to the public, members said.
This high level of secrecy was necessary, Anderson said, to ensure that the board attracted the best applicants. If candidates knew their identity would be revealed, the board reasoned, these applicants might be discouraged from applying out of fear that they would appear un-committed to their own district.
It Looks Like Colin Updated A Previous Story About The Upcoming Meeting And Then Went Back And Updated The Article With The New Superintendents Name, In order To Make it look like He Broke The Story About Dr. Sidney Freund Appointment.
This Story Had 10 Comments Comments One Through Eight Don't Mention Dr. Freund.
Commentor Number eight "Meg" Was The First Person To Mention Dr. Freund's Name A Little After 6 AM On The Next Day (05/15/09).....
"Do you think the BOE got it right this time??? Maybe since Dr. Freund has had success and experience as a superintendent, he'll be fine. Congrats to Greenwich-now let's see the whole system improve within a few years. It's a mess right now.Keep the parents and their opinions away, at least for awhile. "
It Is A Violation Of Basic Journalistic standards for Hearst Newspapers to "Backdate" Or "Update" Articles Without Telling It's Readers.
If you cant trust the Greenwich Time to tell you when an article is written, how can you trust what's in the article.
UPDATE #3
Hearst VP Lincoln Millstien Admits That Others Have Done A Better Job Of Covering The New Greenwich Superintendent Story
Lincoln's Log - Hearst Newspaper VP Lincoln Millstein's Pitiful And Ameturish Attempt To Prove He Is A Hip Greenwich Blogger
Here are some links to articles about the new superintendent
http://www.lohud.com/article/20080113/NEWS/801130301/-1/SPECIAL12
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/24/nyregion/help-wanted-school-superintendent.html?pagewanted=1
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9902E1D7143EF931A25751C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
http://www.dobbsferry.com/foundation/Press%20Releases/Technology%20Initiative%20PR%20Letterhtml.html
http://www.antonnews.com/illustratednews/1999/12/24/news/
http://www.antonnews.com/illustratednews/1999/12/24/news/freund.html
http://www.cyc-net.org/features/viewpoints/c-dobbsferry.html
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