Amagansett Looks for New Leadership

Kristen Peterson, the president of the Amagansett School Board, has sent a message to parents and residents in the district inviting them to “assist the board in establishing direction for the selection process for the new superintendent of schools. The board is facing the most important task any school board ever faces: replacing its chief school officer. We are confident that you will want to be a part of this process.” 

In January, Eleanor Tritt, the current superintendent of the small school district, announced that she would retire at the end of her contract in June. Ms. Tritt joined Amagansett in 2001 as interim superintendent and became superintendent in 2008. During her tenure, Ms. Tritt said, she has “worn many hats” and has served as school business and personnel capacities, as well as the principal. However, more recently, the superintendent has been less than popular among some of the district’s residents, with a few citing a lack of transparency in her business dealings.

Ms. Peterson encouraged community members to attend one of two meetings at the Amagansett School, on Tuesday, April 10, from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. and later that day from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

For residents unable to attend the meetings, the district has asked that they fill out a survey, which includes such questions as “What do you see as the single, most important quality that the next superintendent of Amagansett should possess? Why?”

The meetings, Ms. Peterson promised, will be an opportunity for residents to meet consultants from a specialized school administrative placement company, which the board has hired to assist in the search. The consultants will describe the process and provide an estimated timetable. For the remainder of the meeting, Ms. Peterson wrote, “the board will be devoted to hearing participant responses to three questions: What would attract a highly-qualified educator to seek the position of superintendent in our school district? What do you see as some of the major leadership challenges that the new superintendent will face over the next three to five years? And what types of prior experiences and personal and professional qualities would you hope the new superintendent will have?

Data collected from these meetings, the survey, and from other meetings with members of the Amagansett School community, will be compiled to list specifications for the search, which the board hopes to approve during an April 18 meeting.  

“These specifications will then guide the Amagansett Board of Education as it undertakes the search for the new superintendent,” Ms. Peterson said.