At the Tuesday, Nov. 28, Guilderland School Board meeting, Greg Aidala announced he will be retiring in November 2007, on the sixth anniversary of his hire date. He said he won’t be retiring until next year because he wanted to give the board adequate time to replace him.
Because of my position as superintendent, it requires a lot of time recruiting, interviewing and selecting a successor, said Aidala.
School board president Richard L. Weisz said right now the board is considering the method they will use to hire Aidala’s replacement, adding that the process used to hire Aidala six years ago may be used again.
`We’re evaluating whether we want to tweak it at all,` he said.
At the time of Aidala’s hiring, Weisz said, the board retained the Board of Cooperative Educational Services as an objective adviser. The school board then combined its discussions with input from the community and assembled a description of the characteristics of the most desired candidate.
Once the board decided what it was looking for, the position was advertised, applications were received and then a candidate ` Aidala ` was hired.
This time around, Weisz said, community forums seeking public input on what characteristics candidates should possess will began some time in January. Again, that input would be combined with that from the board and a `cogent skill set` would be developed for the new candidate.
`We’re looking for the kind of things that a successful district of 5,800 students would look for in their chief officer,` said Weisz.
For instance, at the time of Aidala’s hiring, Weisz said, the district was in a period of building, and they were looking for someone who had previous experience in these matters.
Weisz said that Aidala has been committed and dedicated in his six years as the district superintendent.
`I think he’s been a terrific superintendent, and I’m disappointed he’s choosing to leave,` said Weisz.
Aidala said that his decision to retire at the age of 56 wasn’t because of any dissatisfaction he had with the district.
`This has, professionally and personally, been a very rewarding experience for me in Guilderland,` said Aidala. `I look forward to the next 12 months as an opportunity to work on some very ambitious initiatives that are under way now.`
Aidala said such initiatives include a task force on evaluating the current school day, a committee studying the district’s English and social studies departments and dealing with health insurance issues that face the district’s staff.
Aidala spent 34 years as a teacher, administrator and also a superintendent in the Salem Central School District in Washington County. He said his time spent in Guilderland was the `pinnacle of his career,` and he is now ready to move on.
`I’m looking forward to different challenges in the years to come, in my new career, which I’m calling retirement,` said Aidala.“
