Published: June 26, 2008 01:10 am      

NIAGARA-WHEATFIELD: New superintendent's past controversy a non-issue

Niagara-Wheatfield school board members may be pleased with their new superintendent, Carl Militello, but some residents from his current district won’t be upset to see him leave.

Militello will be exiting the Carthage Central School District after a rough couple of months. The Carthage school board’s proposed budget, which would’ve raised the tax levy by 10 percent, was overwhelmingly defeated by voters in May — only 294 voted in favor while 1849 voted against.

Angry residents packed public meetings, calling spending out of control and, in some cases, calling for Militello’s resignation, according to reports by news media in Watertown, which cover the Carthage district.

With input from local government officials, the tax levy was eventually brought down to a 6.8 percent increase after three positions and a youth counseling program were terminated. Cuts in special education positions and funding were planned by the board but canceled after resident outcry.

Militello’s quick departure from Carthage to Niagara-Wheatfield on the heels of the budget controversy made newspaper headlines Wednesday and was reported Tuesday by several television news stations in Watertown.

When asked if the controversy factored into his decision to leave Carthage, Militello only told the Gazette he felt Niagara-Wheatfield was an “excellent” district, which he is pleased to have the opportunity to join.

“My reason for coming to Niagara-Wheatfield is it’s one of the most outstanding districts in the state of New York and I’m becoming a member of an outstanding educational community,” Militello said.

Maureen Kaus, Niagara-Wheatfield board president, said the board was aware of the budget issues in Militello’s current district, but board members found no cause for concern.

“There are so many things that happen within a budget and school boards are aware that this happens all over,” Kaus said. “It was resolved to our satisfaction. The particulars surrounding that issue in Carthage had started before he was there so we were completely satisfied.”

Militello has been serving as superintendent of schools in the Carthage Central School District since 2006. He was named superintendent by the Niagara-Wheatfield board Tuesday at a $155,000 salary. The appointment will be effective Aug. 1.

Kaus and board vice president Sam Monin visited Carthage to interview administrators, teachers and board members after Militello was made a finalist in the secretive search for Judith Howard’s replacement.

Monin said he could not comment on the specifics surrounding the recent controversy in Carthage, but the Niagara-Wheatfield board was fully aware of Militello’s past and did proper checks into his background before an making an appointment.

“We were aware of everything we needed to be aware of,” Monin said. “An in-depth investigation was done. This was not just shooting from the hip.”

Militello declined to specifically address the recent budget issues in Carthage, but said a “variety of factors” go into a budget and what happened there does not detract from the strong educational programming Carthage offers. He is looking to the future with his “entry-level plan” for Niagara-Wheatfield, he said.

“There’s no correlation between the two districts and I look forward to meeting with district members and being specific about building a good community base in Niagara-Wheatfield,” Militello said. “I’m just looking forward to a new exciting beginning.”

The search process for Howard’s replacement, which began in March, was kept strictly confidential. The board hired a consulting firm, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, to lead the nationwide search and no information about candidates was released during the search process.

Though the board requested input in the early stages on what kind of leader the public wanted, no input was sought on specific candidates.

“There are pros and cons to doing the search both ways,” Kaus said. “The final decision is with the Board of Education — it’s the most important responsibility we have. Between the consultants and the board, we decided that we would follow this model and we were extremely happy it turned out as well as it did.”

Contact reporter Caitlin Murrayat 282-2311, ext. 2251.