Community forum being hosted for three Paterson school superintendent finalists | Paterson Times Paterson Times

Community forum being hosted for three Paterson school superintendent finalists

By Jayed Rahman
Published: February 8, 2018

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The school board is hosting a forum at John F. Kennedy High School to introduce the three finalists of the superintendent search to the community next week, announced school board president Oshin Castillo on Wednesday night.

Castillo said the community forum will take at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Each of the finalists will introduce themselves to members of the public at the forum. She said residents will be able to ask questions of the candidates at the forum.

The decision to host a forum is a reversal from what the school board considered behind a closed-door meeting last week. Majority of board members favored not hosting a forum. Some community leaders criticized board members for its secret maneuvering in a process described as flawed by some board members and community activists.

“I’m glad they actually listened. We put a lot of pressure on them to make this thing public,” said former school board member Corey Teague. He has criticized the superintendent search process as being “rigged.”

The school board received the names of the three finalists from the search committee in late January. The committee also provided the board with a report. Names of the three individuals have yet to be made public.

School board members, who are not on the search committee, said they have yet to see the names of the three finalists.

School board members will interview the three finalists at a closed meeting on Monday. On Wednesday, the school board will take a vote on who will become the next school superintendent.

Acting superintendent Eileen Shafer is among the finalists. She has recused herself from the process. On Wednesday night, several local religious figures expressed their support for Shafer.

“I’m glad she decided to do the right thing,” said Teague of Castillo.

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This report was updated at 4:50 p.m.


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