Schalmont Central School District Superintendent Valerie Kelsey on announced her decision to retire on Monday, June 11.
Kelsey’s retirement will become effective Dec. 31, and the Board of Education during its June 11 meeting selected Capital Region BOCES District Superintendent Charles Dedrick to be the consultant for the search process for her replacement.
“The past eight years have been professionally rewarding, and I have come to love the Schalmont community and its students,” Kelsey said in a letter to board members.
Kelsey said she wanted to announce her retirement to allow the district and board the time to hire a successor. She said she had wanted to retire sooner, but decided to stay on as the school transitioned through changes mandated by the state.
`As a veteran district administrator, I felt it was important to help create and implement the new teacher/principal evaluation system as well as the district’s compliance with the state’s new tax levy limit,” she said in a statement. “By choosing to retire after the first semester, I will have accomplished those goals.`
Details about the search process will be provided once available, according to district officials.
Kelsey said when she joined the district she and school officials identified priorities and set measurable goals. She said by working together the goals were achieved. She said she was “most proud the academic improvement of our students.” Also, she said students excel outside of the classroom in music and sports.
Kelsey said the district faces “great challenges” as demands from federal and state government increases, with resources dwindling.
“I know that with the current school board and our strong community, the district’s administration, faculty and staff will find solutions to continue on a positive path,” she said in her letter to board members.
The board also on June 11 appointed Joseph Lenz to the position of school business official, replacing Mark Kellett upon his retirement this summer. Lenz will begin on July 1.
Lenz worked closely with the district’s administrative team for the past six months as an administrative intern.
Before working at Schalmont, he was a business administrative intern at the Fonda-Fultonville Central School District. At the same time, he pursed a certificate of advanced study in school district business leadership at the College of Saint Rose. He also worked at the Logistics Division of Wal-Mart for the past nine years.
