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Two vie for superintendent job
The board plans to hire a new superintendent at its May 13 meeting.
STRUTHERS — James A. Ciccolelli, former Campbell Schools superintendent, and Lori Saunders, special services coordinator for Struthers schools, are the finalists to become Struthers School District’s new superintendent.
They are the survivors from a list of 17 who applied for the job, expected to pay around $83,000 a year, the salary of former schools Superintendent Sandra DiBacco, said Dean Burns, board of education president.
DiBacco, who resigned, left Nov. 29, 2007. She was replaced, on an interim basis, by Don P. Dailey, former Boardman Schools superintendent.
Burns said the board plans to hire a new superintendent at its May 13 meeting. The new head of schools will start June 1.
The candidates were interviewed by a schools administrative team, consisting of board members and school administrators. The field was reduced to five who were called back for second interviews, but one withdrew, leaving four candidates, Burns said.
The four semi-finalists were also interviewed April 7 and 8 by a advisory committee of stakeholders, made up of Mayor Terry Stocker, the Struthers PTA president, schools union leaders, community members, an athletic boosters club representative, a teacher who lives in the district, and two students, Burns said.
The board interviewed the stakeholders to get their input and then reduced the number of candidates to two.
“We attracted a reasonably good mix of candidates. A priority was placed on choosing somebody who will fit in with the community. Struthers residents are very good about supporting the schools, and we try to accommodate them,” Burns said.
The new superintendent will take over a school district with about 2,200 students, a staff of 140 certified and 71 classified employees and a budget of about $19.6 million.
Here are brief rundowns on the candidates:
Ciccolelli, a 1967 graduate of Campbell Memorial High School, was an English/French teacher, and middle school and high school principal in the Campbell district before serving as its superintendent from 1993 to 2005.
He graduated in 1972 from Youngstown State University with a bachelor of arts degree and received a master of science in education degree in secondary administration from YSU in 1981. He received his superintendent’s certificate in 1994.
Ciccolelli was a councilman at-large in Campbell from 1979 to 1988 and served on the city’s Civil Service Commission from 1990 to 1996. He served in the Army from 1972 to 1974 and worked at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. from 1967 to 1972.
In his application, Ciccolelli said he has “always taken great pride in leading a low-wealth district to great success by careful budgeting and learning the ins and outs of school financing. I am a firm believer in living within your means and making the most of what you have available to you, while keeping the best interests of students at heart.”
Saunders, as special services coordinator for the district beginning in 2006, is responsible for programming for special education and gifted students and testing to meet Ohio Achievement Graduation tests.
A former Struthers special education teacher in grades kindergarten through eight between 1988 and 1999, Saunders also was special services director for the Trumbull County Education Service Center, Hubbard Exempted Village School District and Girard City Schools from 2001 to 2006. She was also special services director for Streetsboro City Schools and taught developmentally handicapped students in the Sebring Local School District in grades kindergarten through 12.
A 1982 graduate of Ursuline High School, Saunders received a bachelor of science degree in education in 1986 from YSU after attending Hiram College for a year. She earned a master’s degree in education, majoring in supervision of curriculum and instruction, in 1992 from Kent State University and is taking coursework at YSU to obtain a superintendent’s license.
“I want to have the opportunity to lead our district in its continuing steps toward becoming an excellent district academically and in improving community relationships and fostering involvement in our schools from all areas of the community,” Saunders said in her application.
alcorn@vindy.com