New York Board appoints him to lead Mount Vernon
By Jenine Clancy, Special Writer
MONROE — Kenneth Hamilton, who has served as the Monroe School District’s Superintendent for the past five years may be heading north to Mount Vernon, New York, the Cranbury Press has learned.
Documents obtained by the Cranbury Press from the Mount Vernon Central School District in New York, show a resolution by its Board of Trustees to appoint Mr. Hamilton as the city’s new superintendent.
The resolution was passed by a 6-3 vote of that board on June 27 and has an anticipated start date of around Aug. 11, according to the document.
The resolution is contingent, however, on Mr. Hamilton getting his certification in that state and reaching agreement on a contract, according to the resolution.
Mr. Hamilton has been competing for the position since December and has been one of four finalists in that district’s search since March, according to that district.
This comes to news to many, including the Monroe Board of Education who say he is still the district’s superintendent.
"As far as I can tell you, no letter of resignation has been sent to Monroe Township," said Board President Kathy Kolupanowich in a telephone interview from Florida where she is vacationing. "As of right now, he is still the superintendent of Monroe.
According to reports from the city newspaper in Mount Vernon, the Daily Voice, Hamilton was named one of four finalists for the superintendent position back in March.
The Mount Vernon Inquirer editor, Joseph Parisi, told the Press Friday that he had spoken to members of that district and was told that "it is a done deal."
The board source also told Mr. Parisi that a contract had been signed and that Mr. Hamilton "will be the next superintendent" of the district.
In an email exchange on the day before his new position was announced by the city, however, Mr. Hamilton denied to Cranbury Press freelance correspondent Ed Birch that he was in the running for the position and that he withdrew his name months ago.
"What is with the Mt. Vernon Position?" Mr. Birch asked Mr. Hamilton after exchanging emails relating to the coverage of the high school’s graduation on June 25.
"Huh?" replied Mr. Hamilton.
Mr. Birch then wrote "Thought I saw (you) were 1 of 4 finalists for their supt. of schools position?"
To which Mr. Hamilton replied back, "I was but withdrew (two) months ago."
As of Thursday, Ms. Kolupanowich did confirm he was considering the position and that he did withdraw his name from the running, but that the Mount Vernon board was requesting him to reconsider taking the position over.
Mount Vernon spokesman Vanessa Ridder said Thursday that he had not, to her knowledge, ever removed his name from consideration
Ms. Ridder ended the telephone interview to take a call from that district’s superintendent to further clarify the matter, but has been unreachable since.
Even though Mount Vernon posted its resolution, Ms. Kolupanowich said Mr. Hamilton was "still weighing the pros and cons."
Mr. Hamilton’s secretary said Thursday that Superintendent Hamilton would not comment on the new position, but "will be able to talk sometime next week."
Mr. Hamilton did send an email to Mr. Birch Thursday saying that he was waiting to get his "licensure" from New York State, but did not comment further.
"My understanding is that they made him an offer," said Monroe Board Vice President Douglas Poye. "I don’t know if he has accepted as of yet."
Phone calls were made to other members of the board, with board members Michele Armino and Tom Nothstein saying they couldn’t comment on the matter.
Appointed in 2009, Hamilton has implemented the largest 1:1 iPad initiative on the east coast, successfully managed district reconfiguration including the opening of a new state of the art high school, developed and implemented the district’s strategic plan, co-authored Senate Bill S1701 and presented before the New Jersey State Senate to justify the need for support of this proposal for equitable state funding for the children of Monroe, according to his biography.
Under his leadership, Monroe High School was ranked one of the Best High Schools in the state, from the U.S. News and World Report. The school ranked 39, in the top 100 performing schools in the state. On a national scale, the school ranked 1,500 out of the 31,000 schools reviewed, according to his biography.
"His leadership has gotten us those kind of accolades," said Ms. Kolupanowich. "The special education programs are wonderful, and it’s amazing what we are able to accomplish in Monroe. It starts from the top."
She also said if Mr. Hamilton does step down, she and the board will be searching for a new superintendent and she hopes "that anybody we would hire would move Monroe forward, like he (Mr. Hamilton) has, but that’s very premature to even say that."
The board president could only speculate that Mr. Hamilton was leaving for personal reasons.
"He would have to do what was best for him and his family," she said. "It would not be my position to say if he should or should not stay."
"I do believe he has put in a lot of effort with a lot of success in terms of staff development," said Poye. "Ultimately he has benefited our students, and will continue to benefit the students in the future."
Writers Ed Birch and Charles W. Kim contributed to this report.