District Looks to Hire IAR Principal by July 1

The Farmington Public School District has recently reposted job advertisements in hopes of having a new principal in place by July 1, Assistant Superintendent Michael Galluzzo said Thursday.

Longtime principal Kelly Lyman vacated the position in the spring of 2011, when she took a position in the Pomperaug Region 15 district.

Since then, retired Farmington teacher and administrator has served as interim principal. , who had previously served as dean of students, was appointed assistant principal in August 2011.

A job posting for the IAR principal position was released before Lyman left, Galluzzo said and again this past week. The ad has appeared in The Hartford Courant and a national journal, as well as the district's website.

“Our goal is to complete the process so the new principal can be in place by July 1,” Galluzzo said.

A screening committee composed of middle school parents, teachers, district administrators and Board of Education members was formed to sift through applications and choose candidates.

“This committee… gets voices of different constituents in the process of selection.”

The committee selects candidates, conducts interviews, makes a recommendation for candidates to have a more thorough screening before another round of interviews.

While some applications have come in, Galluzzo said the district hopes to have as many as 50 to choose from. The state has a shortage of school administrators, but the economy has made this a good time to recruit, Galluzzo said.

In the meantime, the district is pleased with Mac Campbell’s performance in the interim role.

“Mac is a prince. He’s done a great job …he is thriving in the job and working hard to continue to move the school forward,” Galluzzo said. “He’s not just covering the job; he’s really doing some leadership work in an effective way and with Ted Donahue alongside.”