By THOMAS LUCKIE III

OGDENSBURG -- The Ogdensburg City School District Board of Education unanimously approved the eventual retirement of Superintendent of Schools Timothy Vernsey at Monday’s meeting. Vernsey’s retirement will be effective Jan. 1, 2019, at which time he will have been employed by the district for 32 years.

Initially hired by the district as a school psychologist in 1987, Vernsey has been the district superintendent since November of 2008.

Vernsey read from a letter addressed to the Board of Education at Monday’s meeting.

“The Ogdensburg City School District has been wonderful to me, both as a professional and as an employee. I have had the opportunity to work with so many fine dedicated people who helped mentor me during my working career,” Vernsey said.

“It has truly been a pleasure to work with so many caring Board of Education members over the years. These community/school volunteers have all made a positive impact on the school district and they should be commended for their volunteer work as board members,” Vernsey added.

Vernsey’s letter also mentioned the upcoming completion of the EXCEL capital improvement project, which has included a massive overhaul of many of the school district’s facilities.

“This project from start to finish spanned my time as assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools. The district now has state of the art facilities that rival any school system in the state. I would like to thank all board members and the community for supporting this project, it was well worth it,” Vernsey said.

The superintendent also referenced the positive effects decisions made by the board of education have had on academics.

“I am also proud that our students continue to excel in the classroom and the many curricular changes we have made here are starting to pay off as evidenced by student work,” he said.

The letter closed with Vernsey’s pledge to remain loyal and available to the district.

“Moving into retirement, I want the district to know that I will be available any time the district needs me,” he said. “Once a Blue Devil always a Blue Devil. This district has been so good to me the least I can do is offer my continued support.”

Vernsey also offered some remarks at the end of the meeting, specifically referencing the financial turnaround the district has made since the economic recession of 2008.

“Thank you for voting on my retirement,” he said. “It’s a little bittersweet when you write that letter, but I think most people who retire here know that you know when it’s time to go. The former athlete in me says ‘Go out on a high note, buddy.’”

“I’m really happy with the project that’s put us back where we need to be,” he added.

As the school district will need to hire a replacement for Vernsey within 15 months, Thomas Burns, district superintendent/executive officer of St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES, was present at the meeting to discuss the options available to the district when the search for a new superintendent begins.

“It can be a time of anxiety for school districts, especially if a superintendent has been there for a while,” Burns said.

Burns also pointed out that the district essentially has four options for potential approaches to the search for suitable superintendent candidates. The options include the board searching for candidates independently, Burns helping facilitate the search as BOCES district superintendent, bringing in an outside consultant to lead the search, and an internal search for potential candidates within the district.

A fifth option, Burns joked, would be for the board to refuse to accept Vernsey’s letter of retirement and “keep him here against his will.”

Burns estimated the cost of a consultant to be at least $15,000, and also noted there would be no extra cost for the district to have BOCES lead the search when Vernsey raised the question.

He also noted that the search will require patience on behalf of the board and administration as it will take some time for applications to arrive after the position is advertised.

“You should build a schedule with the first day you want the new superintendent on the job in mind and then you work backwards,” Burns said. “Six months would be a pretty expedited search, in many cases it takes nine.”

Burns also prepared the board for the possibility of a small candidate pool, as experience has told him that candidates from outside the North Country rarely apply for positions in the area. However, he also mentioned that Ogdensburg may be able to attract more candidates than smaller school districts in the region due to a potentially higher salary.