WEATHERSFIELD SCHOOLS Niles board members called me about job, superintendent says

The Weathersfield official said the situation had embarrassed both districts.
& lt;a href=mailto:slshaulis@vindy.com & gt;By SHERRI L. SHAULIS & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE -- The Weathersfield Local Schools superintendent says he never sought an administrative position in Niles City Schools but rather it was offered to him.
"Niles contacted me," Rocco D. Adduci said. "Very recently, I was contacted by board members about the position."
Adduci declined to identify which members of the five-person board in Niles contacted him. But Niles' board President John H. Davis said that after last week's resignation announcement from Superintendent Patrick N. Guliano, board members agreed Adduci would be a good fit in their district.
What official said
"I did contact Rocky based on a conversation among all five board members," Davis said. "Rocky is a Niles person, and we knew somebody else would get him if we didn't."
Davis said he had held informal conversations with Adduci in the past few weeks about whether he would be interested if the job were to open but talked with him officially about the position only after Guliano's announcement.
Niles board members voted 3-2 Monday to hire Adduci as assistant superintendent beginning March 8, with the idea he would assume the top post when Guliano leaves July 31.
But Ohio Revised Code says boards cannot vote to employ anyone in an administrative position without the recommendation of the superintendent, voiding Adduci's appointment.
Guliano has told The Vindicator he did not make the recommendation and was not asked to do so by the board.
Grievance filed
Meanwhile, the Niles teachers union has filed a grievance with Guliano against the board saying members failed to post the job internally, accept applications or grant interviews as called for in their master contract.
Niles Board of Education meets today at noon in the board offices, 100 West St., and will discuss the situation, Davis said.
Adduci said the entire matter has left both school districts in an unfortunate situation.
"It's causing a lot of embarrassment in both districts," he said.
But it's a situation he plans to deal with in Weathersfield, at least through the end of this school year.
"I am the superintendent of Weathersfield until I resign, and I am not resigning," he said. "I have confidence in my ability to help Weathersfield schools go in the right direction through the end of the year."
Adduci said that he's not sure he would accept the Niles position if it were offered again and that he's not sure what his plans will be.
"I can't promise what will happen next year," he said. "No one can."
& lt;a href=mailto:slshaulis@vindy.com & gt;slshaulis@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;