A search to find a new superintendent for Oxford schools resulted in more than 20 inquiries, 14 applications, six initial interviews, and three follow-up interviews, according to Board of Education Chairwoman Paula Guillet.
And one candidate who she said was the class of the field from the beginning: Tim Connellan, the Town of Bethany’s current superintendent.
“He clearly rose to the top, that’s all I could say,” Guillet recalled Monday after the school board held a special meeting to appoint Connellan. “Right from the start.”
The board appointed Connellan unanimously pending a background check and verification of his certification.
Guillet said after the meeting that she hopes Connellan can begin by Aug. 1. She declined to disclose details of his contract, including his salary, until the contract is reviewed by lawyers.
The board budgeted about $150,000 in salary for the position, she said.
Connellan, 58, a Southington resident, said after the meeting that he needed a new challenge and was drawn to Oxford because it’s an already great district with “tremendous potential.”
He said faculty and staff have worked hard on developing and aligning curriculum and hopes to work with the school board to further those efforts.
“It’s a really, really nice community,” Connellan added. “That’s the reputation of the community and everything that I read and heard bore that out.”
In the video below, Connellan discusses the job’s attraction. Article continues after the video.
Connellan has been superintendent in Bethany for seven years.
He attended Monday’s meeting with his wife, Terri, and daughter, Katie, a senior at Brandeis University. He also has twin sons who are 31 and two grandchildren.
Before his current job he served as director of student services in North Haven for eight years. He has also worked in the West Hartford, South Windsor, and the Region 7 school district.
His first job after graduating Boston University in 1976 was working with troubled youths at Mount St. John School in Deep River. He was also a school psychologist in Southington.
Guillet was full of praise for Connellan’s resume after Monday’s meeting, but described his personality in glowing terms as well, saying he is easy-going and approachable while also highly intelligent and advanced in his thinking.
“He’s got the whole package, really,” Guillet said.
She said Connellan will have plenty to do as soon as he starts, especially working on curriculum alignment and planning on how to implement the state’s Common Core standards.
“I think he’ll have his hands full,” she said.
Palmer was eventually replaced by Edward Malvey, who resigned after five months on the job.
Malvey is now an interim superintendent in Massachusetts.
Since 2010, James Connolly has filled in twice as interim superintendent, with John Reed most recently in the temporary seat.
Guillet said getting someone in the superintendent’s office on a permanent basis after having a number of interim schools chiefs will make hers and the board’s jobs much easier.
“You have no idea what this is off of my back,” she said. “I’m so relieved and excited at the same time.”