NEWS RELEASE
Feb. 22, 2013
Mount Markham Central School District
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES
Mount Markham announces new superintendent
The Mount Markham Board of Education has selected Shawn Bissetta as the school district's new superintendent.
Bissetta, who is currently the principal of the junior-senior high school in the Port Byron Central School District, will start with Mount Markham on Wednesday, May 1.
During the interview process, Bissetta was able to meet not only the board members, but also students, faculty, staff and the community, and he felt like it was a great match for him, he said.
"I'm incredibly excited to be going to Mount Markham and be a part of it now," Bissetta said. "I had a great feeling about the district and the people there."
The Mount Markham Board of Education selected Bissetta on Monday, Feb. 11, following a final round of interviews. After contract details were finalized this week, the board plans to formally approve Bissetta as superintendent during the regular board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 26.
"The board was fortunate to have a pool of some very strong candidates from which to choose," board President Ronald Loiacono said. "We chose Shawn Bissetta based on his credentials, his experience, our interviews and the feedback we received from the online survey, staff interviews and the community forum. The board looks forward to working with Shawn to continue to build upon our goals to improve the academic performance of all of our students during what will be a challenging time for public education."
Bissetta's contract is for three years, and he will earn a salary of $120,000 per year.
Mount Markham's superintendent search started in late October 2012. Then-Superintendent Casey Barduhn announced he was leaving the district at the end of 2012 to become superintendent of the Westhill Central School District.
Retired Ilion Superintendent Robert Service was appointed by the Board of Education to fill in on an interim basis starting on Jan. 1, 2013.
The board selected Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES District Superintendent Mark Vivacqua as the superintendent search consultant. A questionnaire was posted online to allow the community to weigh in on what qualifications the district was looking for in a superintendent.
Vivacqua then narrowed the pool of candidates to six semi-finalists, who were interviewed by the Board of Education on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. The board selected three finalists, who all visited the school district on Feb. 5 and met with various school-related groups.
A community forum took place on Feb. 7, at which a committee of community members helped interview each of the candidates. There also was some time for questions from the general public.
