Tags Posts tagged with "Paul Casciano"

Paul Casciano

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Paul Casciano is no longer Port Jefferson’s interim superintedent after the school board approved his permanent appointment. Photo from Port Jefferson school district

The Port Jefferson School District has named a new — yet familiar — superintendent.

The board of education appointed Paul Casciano as the district’s new leader at a meeting Dec. 13. The Stony Brook resident and former superintendent for the William Floyd School District had been serving as Port Jeff’s interim superintendent since July.

“I thank the board for this opportunity to serve,” Casciano said in a statement. “I am looking forward to working together with our board of education, leadership team, faculty, staff, parents and community to achieve amazing things for the children of Port Jefferson.”

Casciano was at the helm of the William Floyd district for nine years, though his background in the field of education spans four decades. He retired from that position in 2015, though accepted “an offer he couldn’t refuse,” to serve as Port Jeff’s interim leader this past summer. School board President Kathleen Brennan said she was thrilled with what she saw from Casciano during his interim period after he took over for Ken Bossert, who held the position for five years before departing to lead the Elwood school district.

“The board was impressed from the very beginning when we interviewed [Casciano] in June for the interim position,” Brennan said in a phone interview. “The board thought he’d be a great fit for Port Jefferson.”

Brennan added that Casciano told her he had no intentions of being a placeholder, even if he weren’t selected to be the district’s permanent solution for the position.

“He said he can’t sit still,” Brennan said, laughing. “We have found him to be very thoughtful. He listens more than he talks. When he does speak he’s very thoughtful. He has given the issue at hand his best work in terms of bringing suggestions to the board.”

‘We have found [Casciano] to be very thoughtful. He listens more than he talks. When he does speak he’s very thoughful.’

— Kathleen Brennan

Casciano earned a doctoral degree in educational administration from New York University. At William Floyd he began as an assistant principal in 1982 and worked his way up to superintendent by 2006. He is currently the co-chair of Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-Shirley) Education Advisory Committee and was also previously the president of the Rotary Club of Shirley and the Mastics. His term as superintendent of Port Jeff’s schools runs through Jan. 1, 2020.

Casciano was put to the test quickly when during the summer a voluntary test of the district’s drinking water turned up traces of lead in several areas. With Casciano leading the way, the district went above and beyond required standards and replaced fixtures that showed lead levels that were below action-level amounts in some cases, to ensure the safety of Port Jeff’s students, according to the president of an environmental consulting firm enlisted to conduct the testing.

“The district response here is at the top of the curve,” Glenn Neuschwender, president of Enviroscience Consultants, said in September regarding Port Jeff’s district-wide response.

Casciano summed up the district and board’s proactive response in September.

“Anything that protects the safety of students is worth the expense,” he said.

Brennan added that on a personal level she’s found Casciano to have a great sense of humor, and said she loves how visible he has been at student functions.

“He’s been great to work with,” she said.

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Paul Casciano is Port Jefferson’s new interim superintendent. Photo from Casciano
Paul Casciano is Port Jefferson’s new interim superintendent. Photo from Casciano

The new interim superintendent of the Port Jefferson School District will be attending a meet and greet Sept. 13 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School hosted by the board of education.

Paul Casciano was hired to fill the position in June and will be available to meet parents and community members ahead of the district’s board of education meeting for September.

The school is located at 500 Scraggy Hill Road in Port Jefferson.

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Port Jefferson High School. File photo by Elana Glowatz

A longtime educator will lead the Port Jefferson school district as it searches for a permanent replacement for outgoing Superintendent Ken Bossert.

During its meeting on Tuesday night, the board of education hired Paul Casciano to serve as interim superintendent, a year after he retired as the head of the William Floyd school district on the South Shore.

Paul Casciano is Port Jefferson’s new interim superintendent. Photo from Casciano
Paul Casciano is Port Jefferson’s new interim superintendent. Photo from Casciano

“We felt that he had tremendous experience,” board President Kathleen Brennan said in a phone interview on Wednesday, referring to Casciano’s 41 years in education, from teacher to superintendent at William Floyd. “He certainly has a grasp on all levels of what it takes to run a district.”

The board hired Casciano to serve from July 1 through June 2017, during which time the board, while receiving input from staffers and other community members, will be searching for someone to work more long-term.

In a phone interview on Thursday, Casciano said although he had retired from being a superintendent, he continues to teach and work. With his wife working and his kids mostly grown, “I thought the conditions were right.”

The Stony Brook resident has education degrees from Central Connecticut State University, Southampton College, C.W. Post and New York University, according to his resume. He joined the William Floyd administration in 1982 as an assistant principal and slowly worked his way up to superintendent, a role in which he served from 2006 to 2015.

“They needed help so that they could select the best candidate to meet the needs of the school community,” Casciano said about meeting with Port Jefferson school board members to discuss the position. “It just seemed like we were all on the same page.”

He joked that Port Jefferson “made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

He does not want to use his time in Port Jefferson keeping things “status quo” and just sitting back and watching, he said. He is interested in “continuing to move the district forward even if it’s in the short-term.”

“How much I personally could accomplish? I’m not sure,” Casciano said, but he hopes the superintendent who succeeds him will keep moving forward.

On a personal note, Brennan called Casciano “a very nice guy — very down to Earth.”

Bossert announced his plan to leave Port Jefferson earlier this year and become the new superintendent in Elwood. He had been at the helm for five years, during which time there have been other changes in leadership throughout the district. Tom Meehan was brought in as the elementary school principal, first on an interim basis and then as the permanent leader, then Antonio Santana and Matthew Murphy were hired as principals of the middle school and high school, respectively, when those two buildings’ combined principal, longtime leader Roseann Cirnigliaro, retired.

Both Santana and Murphy have since moved on to other schools, with Robert Neidig replacing Santana and Christine Austen replacing Murphy.

“With the current leadership team in place, I know that the district is in very capable hands,” Bossert said in his farewell letter to the community.