- By Dan Veaner
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Dr. Mark S. LewisDr. Mark S. Lewis
Dr. Lewis has been in education for about 30 years. He began as a Middle School and High School teacher in Pennsylvania. In 1981 he became Assistant Middle School Principal in Canandaigua, then went on to become a Principal in the Jefferson-Youngville Central School District.
He became Superintendent of the Central Square Central School district in 1987 and served in that capacity in Leroy from 1992 until 1999 when he became Superintendent in Brewster. He holds a BS in secondary education from Penn State, an MS in educational administration from Bucknell University and a PhD in educational administration from Syracuse University.
Accepting the appointment, Dr. Lewis said, "I am honored that the Lansing Board of Education has selected me as the next Superintendent of Schools. It is evident that the community is proud of its school system and enthusiastically supports its goals for its students. This is a key reason for my desire to come to Lansing."
The accelerated search was controversial because it condensed portions of a typical search process. Instead of widely advertising over a period of time, the plan called for Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES District Superintendent Ellen O'Donnell to bring candidates to the board, which would bring them directly to the interview process. "Despite what some felt was an overly aggressive timetable we agreed not to compromise on the quality of the candidates and we wanted to make sure to invite representatives of key stakeholder groups to participate in the process," said School Board President Bonita Lindberg.
Indeed, Dr. O'Donnell had warned that the Board might not meet its objectives when they insisted on advertising the search and opening the interview process to interested elements of the community. The board felt they could not exclude community input and insisted it be a part of the process.
Ms. Lindberg explained the process before bringing the appointment to a vote. Dr. O'Donnell brought applications from over 30 candidates to the board, which chose six for initial interviews. They then invited three candidates to spend a full day interviewing with seven constituent groups. Each candidate finished the day with another one hour interview with the School Board. Reference checks and a background check were conducted, and some board members made a site visit to the Brewster school district.
"I share this so that the Lansing community can appreciate the depth of activity that has brought us to this evening. All of these events contributed to our final selection. It was not any one group or factor, but the totality of the various inputs that has culminated in our selection.
One Board member, Christine Iacobucci stated that she could not agree with the board on the process or the decision. While lauding Dr. O'Donnell's contribution she faulted the board for using the "Fast Track" approach instead of spending a year on a more conventional search. But Board Vice President Anne Drake said, "We are fortunate that Dr. Lewis brings over 13 years of experience as a superintendent, has strong financial skills, is abreast of current research and best practices. We are all very excited as we move to bring our district to the next level for all of our students."
"Under his leadership," said Ms. Lindberg, "the Brewster School District has made great strides in the area of academic achievement. Further he has successfully led two capital campaigns that allowed the Brewster Central School District to expand and enhance their instructional programs." Clearly this is on the minds of Board members as Lansing is developing Phase II of its own capital improvement campaign.
Ms. Lindberg thanked Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES District Superintendent Ellen O'Donnell, who chaired the search process, gathering the candidates and making recommendations to the Board. She also thanked the members of the board, teachers, administrators, staff, parents, community and students who volunteered their time to be a part of the interview process.
Dr. Lewis will begin his initial three year appointment in Lansing on or around January 6th, at an initial annual salary of $145,000 plus benefits. He stated, "I am excited at the prospect of working with the school and community to ensure Lansing's students continue to experience the best teaching / learning environment. It is more critical than ever that we work together to equip our young people to face the challenges of an uncertain twenty-first century world. I am confident that, together, we will continue to make that happen."
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