BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Massena Central School Board of Education President Paul Haggett and Board Vice President Kevin Perretta were recently selected and sworn in to lead the board for another one-year term.

Both Haggett and Perretta won re-election to the board in May by a wide margin, with Haggett receiving 864 votes and Perretta receiving 616. The next closest candidate was Richard Marshall with 429 votes, followed by Jamie Crosby with 242 votes and David Broadbent with 223 votes.

Superintendent Ron Burke was also sworn in during the July 9 reorganization meeting.

In other action, board members appointed R. Shane Halladay to the junior high principal position, a role that he will serve in effective Sept. 1, running through Aug. 31, 2028, officials said.

A former math teacher and tech prep advisor, Halladay was serving as the high school assistant principal since Sept. 2015, according to school officials.

According to Superintendent Ron Burke, a "little more than half a dozen" applicants vied to secure the position that was vacated when Kendra Quinlan stepped down to the assistant principal position a few weeks ago.

Quinlan said she was stepping down to the assistant principal position to spend more time with family.

In reference to the candidates who applied for the principal's position, Burke said "none of them have the same level of qualification, even remotely, that Mr. Halladay brings."

"Almost all of them would be brand new administrators," he said.

With Halladay moving up now, Burke said the district would advertise for a dean of students or assistant principal to replace Halladay in the future, saying the district was actively working on the situation.

Burke said the district is seeking candidates who would not only be qualified in the short-term, but would remain with the district for years to come.

"What we’re looking for is we want a person who’s the most qualified not just for September, but for five years from now," he said.

Burke said the candidate would need at least an administrative certification to be an assistant principal, with teachers on special assignments eligible to be a dean of students.

“That dean of students will be given a time frame to complete their certification for administration, and then we can turn it back into the assistant principal role. In terms of what they can do with students, it’s nearly identical. The one thing that we lose with the dean of students is that the dean cannot do any teacher evaluations," he said.

Burke said the deadline is fast approaching, with district officials hoping to get the new hire onboarded and acclimated as soon as possible to begin working with the high school administration.

Hopefully they will be hitting the ground running Sept. 1," Burke said.