BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES will have a new face at the helm next year after Superintendent Thomas Burns announced his retirement.

BOCES Board of Education President Roger Bennett was recently on hand for the Massena Central School Board of Education meeting to inform board members that the search is currently on hold.

Burns, who has served in the superintendent role since June 1, 2009, was previously the superintendent at Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District.

Bennett said BOCES officials were currently waiting on a letter to allow them to proceed with the search.

According to Massena board Vice President Kevin Perretta, that letter will come from the state Education Department commissioner and occurs any time a district superintendent leaves any BOCES position for retirement or other purposes.

He said the state must conduct a review of the specific BOCES to decided if it needs to be dissolved, changed, merged or whether they should move forward with the vacancy. Perretta is a BOCES employee as well as a Massena School District board member.

"I’m assuming it’s going to be sooner rather than later. Until the letter is received to the president, we know no more than you do,” Bennett told Massena board members.

Bennett said the Franklin County BOCES superintendent had been appointed, noting he will be the one who works with the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES board to bring in a new member.

Perretta asked Bennett if BOCES would reach out to districts prior to hiring a new superintendent, in hopes of gauging what districts may feel they need in the future.

“That would be up to the superintendent that’s coming in to sit with us so that we can line up how we’re going to do it, and I have no idea at this point in time how we’re going to do it. I hope that we communicate and get input but I can’t say how it’s going to operate at this time until I get the letter and find out more,” Bennett said.

Bennett also took the time to seek the Massena board's support to serve another three-year term on the BOCES board, a role he has served in since 1995, he said.

He was previously a Massena Central School board member for 15 years prior to that.

“Many years ago we had a county school board and it was very active and you had time to meet with each other and talk. Today, that seems to be gone to the past. I’m going to try to convince some people to kind of reinvent the wheel and get back into better communication,” he said.

Bennett said he hopes to continue to build on communication efforts with districts, informing board members he's "as close as the telephone."

He said he is used to receiving calls 24 hours per day and would be happy to take any calls board members may have.

"If I can’t answer it, I will find out and get an answer for you," Bennett said.

In the end, the board opted to nominate Bennett, something other districts will be asked to do as well.

“Thank you for your many years of service and representation on the BOCES board. You also put in a good amount of time right here at this board table. We thank you for that,” Massena board President Paul Haggett said.

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