By Jonathan L'Ecuyer
Staff writer
Tue, May 13 2008 ROCKPORT — Outgoing Superintendent Rosemary DiTullio will leave behind a school system and student body made better by her tenure and a community richer for her service, according to the School Committee's annual evaluation. Each year, the committee evaluates the superintendent — using the guidelines set by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees — on seven categories ranging from budget management to educational leadership and personal qualities. Just like last year, DiTullio — who will retire June 30 after serving five years in Rockport — earned a rank of "exceeding" in every category. School Committee Chairman Brian Sullivan compiled all the comments from the members' evaluations into a general statement for the report at Wednesday night's meeting. r Relationship with School Committee: DiTullio continues to make clear, effective communication with the School Committee a priority, the report says, noting that she does a particularly good job at ensuring new members are quickly brought up to speed on committee responsibilities. "Dr. DiTullio's efforts have fostered a high degree of mutual trust with the committee and with the town, benefitting all parties," Sullivan said. r Educational leadership: DiTullio consistently displays a deep understanding of all aspects of her field, from education policy issues on a national level to the details of Rockport School Department curricula. DiTullio's effective leadership was illustrated during her first status report on the long-range plan, Sullivan said. She showed her familiarity with the goals the committee had set and was able to point to clear, marked, progress in meeting those goals. There are about 1,100 students in the Rockport school system. r General management: The report said DiTullio shows impressive command of an "almost unmanageable complex of statutes, regulations and requirements." As one example, the report cites DiTullio's work to complete a revision to the school disaster preparedness plan after working with faculty, school administrators and town officials. The end result was a "well thought out, effective and understandable plan." r Budget management: The School Committee calls budget management the most challenging aspect of the superintendent's position, going on to say DiTullio has managed it well. "DiTullio has brought both tenacious advocacy for students and creative thinking, doing more with less, to this task," Sullivan said. The budget is a constant demand on DiTullio's own time and resources, the report says, but because of her efforts, the committee has an excellent grasp of the department's needs and is better able to liaison with other town departments in explaining those needs and working toward securing needed resources. DiTullio has worked with the School Committee in recent weeks to appeal to selectmen to restore $100,000 to the schools budget. The School Committee is prepared to go before Town Meeting, April 5, to ask that it support reinstating $100,000, giving the school its originally promised guideline budget. Selectmen have told the committee it would support the measure. r Personnel management: Sullivan said Rockport enjoys a high level of competence and dedication among its teachers, due in no small measure to DiTullio's leadership. "She continues to demonstrate superior judgment, discretion, and competence in recruiting, leading, and managing a talented cadre of professional educators," Sullivan said. Ingrid Keating recently took over for recently-retired Bonnie Gray as secretary to the superintendent and backed up everything Sullivan said about her boss. "She's been a great boss and I'm very happy working for her," Keating said, yesterday. "I'm sorry to see her go." r Communications/public relations: DiTullio has earned the respect of all town departments, especially selectmen and Finance Committee, according to the report, and is responsive to citizens' concerns. "DiTullio's emphasis on building productive relationships across town constituencies, including parents, government, voters, staff, and students, has gone a long way to advance public perceptions and understanding of the School Department and its mission," Sullivan said. Selectman Armand Aparo said yesterday DiTullio had done a fine job over the last several years and that he will be sorry to see her go. Selectwoman Sarah Wilkinson is the liaison to the School Committee, but was unavailable for comment yesterday. r Personal qualities and characteristics: Lastly, the report says DiTullio's conduct of all her duties as superintendent has always reflected only the highest qualities of integrity, dedication, and professionalism. "Her character is beyond reproach," Sullivan said. "As a leader, she is inspirational. As a mentor, she is both demanding and nurturing, and as an education professional, she has proven again and again her heartfelt devotion to advancing the quality of education provided to every child entrusted to her charge. She will be missed." The evaluation has no direct impact on the superintendent's salary, since her salary was set by her contract. DiTullio was the highest paid town employee last year, earning $128,575. "I guess it's a good time to retire," DiTullio said with a laugh after the report was read. "I thank the committee, I've been so lucky to work with very professional school committees. All of them only wanted only to advance the schools and do what's best for the kids and ultimately that's what counts. Hopefully, I will continue right to the end to have your trust and confidence." DiTullio was hired in 2003 and given a three-year contract. In the middle of that contract term, she renegotiated for another three-year contract. The School Committee is in contract negotiations with Montvale, N.J., Public Schools Superintendent Susan King. If a deal is reached, King would take over for DiTullio starting July 1.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
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