New Fairfield school superintendent to retire
By Dirk Perrefort, Staff Writer
Published: 11:00 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2009
NEW FAIRFIELD -- The man credited with turning around the town's school system has announced he will be retiring.
After six years at the helm, Superintendent Joseph Castagnola told the Board of Education on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the school year.
"We've done a lot of good things and it's time for me to do something else," he said. "I feel that I still have something to offer, so we'll see what happens. I have no real plans at this point. I'm just keeping my options open." [HEY JOE, THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT, IS IT O.K.?]
Before Castagnola's tenure, officials said there was a lot of turnover of both teachers and administrators in the district.
"He's been responsible for turning the ship around in terms of attitude," said education board chairman Kim Hanson. "Our retention rate has been remarkable since he's been on board. He's just a really nice guy who is a joy to work with." ["I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship building has gone beyond that." -Captain Smith, Commander of Titanic]
Hanson added, "We have a climate where we actually encourage discovering problems so we can fix them. It may sound like a subtle change, but it's actually quite significant. [All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster. -BARACK OBAMA]
"Joe has brought stability to the district and shown real leadership. He'll be leaving some enormous shoes to be filled." [And I think there is too much bloviating around from politicians. -BARNEY FRANK]
Susan Chapman, co-president of the New Fairfield High School Parent Teacher Organization, said Castagnola was always responsive to parents. [ It is only by imitating the vices of others that I have earned my misfortunes. -Marquis de Sade]
"If we asked any questions he would always come back to us with an answer," said Chapman, who was recently elected to the Board of Selectmen. "It's nice to know that he follows up on our concerns." [ 'For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.' -Anon]
Castagnola said his door was always open to anyone, whether a parent with a concern or a teacher with an issue that needed to be addressed. He said he also tried to impress on others that "no one individual has the answers to everything."["A conclusion is simply the place where someone got tired of thinking." -Arthur Block]
"I always stressed team-building," he said. "If there's an issue, let's bring it to the table and be honest about it. When you put a lot of heads together, you can usually come up with a pretty good solution."
Castagnola, who was named Connecticut Superintendent of the Year in 2004 -- about a month before he arrived in New Fairfield -- said he has volunteered to help the school board search for his replacement.
"The school system is in a good place right now," he said. "I've continually talked about the concept of getting from good to great. It's important to me that whoever takes over has a similar philosophy."
Castagnola said while he would help in the search, he stressed to board members that the decision will be theirs.
"At the end of the day, it has to be a good match," he said. [Like the evening news ... 'Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening', and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.' - Anon]
Hanson said when the Board of Education last negotiated Castagnola's contract, members realized he might soon want to retire and included a provision that he could stay on as interim superintendent for up to three months afterward. [Something like: 'Nouvelle Cuisine, roughly translated, means: I can't believe I paid ninety-six dollars and I'm still hungry.' -Mike Kalin]
"To ensure a smooth transition, we wanted to have that option," Hanson said.
Contact Dirk Perrefort
at dperrefort@newstimes.com
or at 203-731-3358.
