After a 48-year career in the New Paltz Central School District, New Paltz High School Principal Barbara Clinton is retiring, effective July 5.
This leaves the school district with three principals to hire for the 2019-2020 school year. Tarkan Ceng resigned as principal from Lenape Elementary School earlier this month after two years on the job, and following the retirement of Debra Hogencamp as principal of Duzine Elementary School last August, interim principal William Ball is currently at the helm, but is only slated to continue in that role through June 30.
At the Board of Education meeting on Wednesday, March 13, Superintendent of Schools Maria Rice said the district will be hiring a recruitment specialist to assist in the hiring process. The board approved the cost to hire such a firm during executive session, she said, but the dollar amount to be paid was not disclosed publicly. Interviews with representatives of recruitment firms will be done on March 21 to find the best fit for the district, she added, noting the importance of finding consultants who will understand the particular needs and focus of the New Paltz School District.
Once the consulting firm helps to ascertain which attributes are most important in a new principal, focus groups of parents and teachers will be formed to continue the hiring process, with the final decisions to be made by Rice and the board.
Clinton was presented with a bouquet of flowers at the board meeting, where Rice noted that Clinton was “the best principal I’ve ever worked with.” Board member Glenn LaPolt, employed as a teacher in another school district, said that having Barbara Clinton as his teacher years ago during his years as a student at New Paltz High School was what inspired him to enter the field of education.
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