Kathleen Carney appointed superintendent of Herkimer Central School District
When Herkimer Central School District Superintendent Robert Miller retired Jan. 31, the Herkimer Central Board of Education (HCBOE) began their search for his successor.
On Tuesday, May 10, the board announced that Kathleen Carney, a former Herkimer elementary school teacher and principal for 20-plus years, would become just that.
After Miller retired, longtime educator and published author Gary Tutty took the reins as the interim superintendent and the HCBOE consulted their contacts within the local education sphere as well as the community itself.
"We started at the end of January, and usually it's a fairly lengthy process, but we had our district superintendent Sandra Sherwood help us and we were able to condense that down to three months," said Bryan Crandall, president of the HCBOE.
Crandall said that at the beginning of the search there were 12 potential candidates, but the BOE had narrowed it down to two by April, with one of them of course being Carney.
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While the process consisted of multiple interviews with candidates, it also gave the people of the Herkimer Central School District a significant amount of participation. There were discussions held between the HCBOE and various stakeholder groups representing different members of the community; one consisting of parents, one of students, one of school faculty and staff, one of clerical and confidential employees and one of administrative employees.
Another way in which the community was able to participate was via community virtual forum. Community members were able to ask candidates questions via livestream as well as fill out surveys the next day.
Crandall described Carney as having a "wealth of knowledge," and said Carney's years of experience in Herkimer Central schools as well as her experience in planning and developing curriculum for the Central Valley School District made her the ideal candidate for the job.
"I think that it's been one of my career goals since I went into administration and I felt that the opportunities I have had so far in my career have prepared me to assume this leadership role," said Carney. "The fact that is in the district that I was born and raised in, graduated from, lived in and my children go to made it even more special for me."
Carney said that she hopes to "sustain and enrich programming and to ensure the district is in good financial standing." She hopes to look into the possibility of funding capital projects to upgrade the school district's physical infrastructure, as well as look into partnerships with programs that would support students' mental and emotional wellbeing.
The HCBOE will vote on Wednesday, May 18, to formally appoint Carney to the position. She will step into the position on Friday, July 1.
Crandall spoke with much faith that he and the rest of the community chose correct with their appointment of Carney.
"I think Mrs. Carney knows where we should go from here," said Crandall.
Brandon Whiting covers Herkimer County community and neighborhood trends for the Times Telegram. Email him at BWhiting@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Herkimer native Kathleen Carney appointed as HCSD superintendent
