The school committee said it plans to hire an interim superintendent at its first meeting in June to succeed Ken Duva until a search for his successor is complete.
Kristine Lapierre, chairwoman of the board, updated the public last Thursday at the committee’s meeting. It has met in executive session three times (May 15, May 22 and May 24) to discuss a timeline and strategy for hiring a superintendent.
Lapierre said the plan is to assemble a search committee of stakeholders to “help us find a qualified candidate.” Duva will take his new post effective July 1 as superintendent of North Kingstown.
“We need more time than that,” she said.
To fill in for the interim, Lapierre said she contacted the Rhode Island School Superintendents Association to inquire about retired superintendents who would want to work on a part-time basis.
“We are in the process of evaluating those prospective candidates,” she said.
Duva, who has led the school district in Jamestown since November 2016, was appointment May 5 by the North Kingstown School Committee.
Duva is taking over for interim superintendent Frank Pallotta. He also succeeds Judy Paolucci, Katherine Sipala and Michael Waterman, all of whom served in the position in some capacity since the resignation of Phil Auger.
The 13 months of turnover follows a scandal in which a former basketball coach at North Kingstown High School was charged with child molestation after allegedly conducting so-called naked fat tests with underage students.
