Board of Education Appoints Interim Superintendent

The Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday evening to appoint Dr. Richard Kisiel, a former Avon superintendent with more than 40 years of teaching and administrative experience, as interim superintendent of the Manchester Public Schools System.

Kisiel, 69, will replace Kathleen Ouellette, who has served as superintendent in Manchester since 2004 and is l. Board of Education Chairman Chris Pattacini said that Ouellette’s last day as superintendent in Manchester will be Friday, Oct. 21, and that Kisiel will officially assumer the duties of superintendent on Monday, Oct. 24; Pattacini said Kisiel will spend the next week or so working alongside Ouellette to familiarize himself with the district.

“I was very impressed by the candidates that the committee interviewed, so that would speak highly of Dr. Kisiel,” Pattacini, a Democrat, said before the board officially voted to accept the contact offered to Kisiel as part of a special meeting Tuesday.

Kisiel, who retired two years ago from the superintendent post in Avon after 43 years in public education, said he sees six major areas where he will have to dedicate his focus as interim superintendent in Manchester:

• To establish a stable administrative environment and ensure a “seamless transition” between Ouellette’s departure and the appointment of the new full-time superintendent.
• To “work diligently” with the board of education to identify and .
• To continue Ouellette’s work to improve “teachers and teaching, student learning, and the curriculum.”
• To work with the school board to draft a budget for the 2012-13 school year that “reflects the economic realities of the time and this community…while…never losing sight of the children’s learning as the reason why we are in our respective positions.”
• To establish a highly visible presence within the district and the community to “understand the workings of our schools and community.”
• And to establish “effective and ongoing” communication with both the school board and the community at large.

“I believe my other work should focus on , and establishing an agenda with the board in response to the anticipated ,” Kisiel told the board after he was appointed. “I look forward with enthusiasm and excitement to this opportunity.”

Members of the school board said they received 10 applications for the position and interviewed four qualified candidates, but that Kisiel’s experience far surpassed the rest.

“He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge. His resume was extensive,” said Michael Rizzo, a Republican member of the school board. “I think his experience and knowledge will be very beneficial to the board as we go forward.”

Kisiel’s career includes stints as a teacher, guidance counselor and assistant principal. He served as principal of Granby Memorial High School for 14 years, and also had a brief stint as an interim superintendent in Granby. Prior to his appointment as superintendent in Avon, he served as superintendent of a regional school district and Massachusetts. Kisiel is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Connecticut, where he teaches two graduate-level courses to aspiring superintendents, and since his retirement from Avon has served as a consultant to the plaintiffs’ in the landmark Sheff vs. O’Neill lawsuit helping to implement the court-ordered integration of Hartford Public Schools.

When asked why, at 69 years of age, Kisiel wasn’t simply content to sit back and enjoy his twilight years, he replied, “I’m not the type of person who can lie around in a hammock too long, believe me.”

Kisiel will earn the same daily salary as Ouellette – who earns a $155,366 annual salary – but not health care or benefits, which works out to about $597 a school day. His contract with the school board is for 164 days, the remaining length of the current school year.

The school board also voted Tuesday to pay Ouellette $13,141.32 for the 22 vacation days she was unable to take last year and carried forward to the current school year.