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Niles schools superintendent resigns
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
Rocco Adduci, superintendent of Niles schools since 2004, has resigned for what he termed “retirement reasons” effective July 31, 2011, when his contract expires.
The superintendent said his future is uncertain, but he was guarded about the possibility of being rehired for the very position he plans to leave.
“All my options are open, and I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Adduci said.
Asked about a retire- rehire possibility, the superintendent would not flatly dismiss it.
“That decision would be up to the board of education, and I’m not going to think about that,” Adduci said.
Adduci has been an educator for 35 years. He was an assistant principal in Niles and a superintendent of Weathersfield Schools before accepting his current position.
The superintendent said he made his decision now to give the board enough time to find a successor. However, he admitted that pension changes in the State Teachers Retirement System also affected his decision.
“I have to look at my own situation,” Adduci said.
The superintendent said he is most proud of being able to hold the line on school taxes and securing voter approval of a bond issue to finance construction of a new high school and two new elementary schools. He voiced concern, however, about the future for public schools with major state-funding cuts expected under the new John Kasich administration.
The superintendent said he is especially disturbed about public funds for charter schools. Adduci said that among his options for the future are “something in the public sector” and even politics.
“I will absolutely miss my students, who are very near and dear to my heart — I love them immensely,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
School board President Marlene Rhodes said she was not surprised by Adduci’s resignation because of his pension concerns. “We’re just grateful it happened now because it gives us time to find a successor,” she said.
Rhodes said board members Eric Lanham and Tony Perrone will research how to proceed with the search for a new superintendent.