the new superintendent will participate in filling several School Department positions before her July 1 start date.
WESTFIELD – Contract negotiations between the School Committee and newly appointed Superintendent of Schools Suzanne Scallion are underway with focus on a three-year pact.
School Committee vice-chairperson Mary Beth Ogulewicz Sacco said Wednesday the official start date for Scallion will be July 1.
Suzanne Scallion Negotiations on behalf of the committee are being conducted by the School Department’s Human Resources Department and city Law Department, said Sacco.
The salary range posted by the School Committee in its advertisement of the position is $130,000 to $165,000 annually. Retiring superintendent Shirley Alvira currently earns $131,840.
Scallion, currently an elementary school principal in Napa, Calif. was selected on a 4-3 vote of the School Committee earlier this week to succeed Alvira when she retires in July.
While contract negotiations are on-going, Scallion will participate through electronic communication in filling several key positions within the School Department.
Alvira said Wednesday she will involve the new superintendent in the appointment process for several principal and other positions that must be filled.
“Time is critical and some positions must be filled to allow individual schools and their principals to properly prepare for the 2011-2012 school year,” said Alvira.
Alvira said the new superintendent will be involved through Skype, electronically, in the interview and appointment process.
Sacco agreed with the process, noting that “there are a number of interim positions that must be filled.”
Some positions to be filled involve Southampton Road Elementary School, Fort Meadow Early Childhood Center, Westfield Vocational-Technical High School and Westfield High School.
Scallion, a former principal at Northampton’s Leeds Elementary School, has already said she will reside in a home she owns in Easthampton.
She holds a doctorate degree in education from the University of Massachusetts and a master degree from Bridgewater State University. She has served as principal at Alta Heights Elementary School in Napa since July 2008.
Scallion was one of four finalists for superintendent considered by the School Committee.
Others were Ronald R. Rix, principal of South Middle School here; Maureen F. Bingham, assistant superintendent in Swampscott; and Melodie L. Goodwin, curriculum director for North Adams School District.
Rix received three votes from the School Committee during its May 9 vote.