East Ramapo Makes Wortham's Job Permanent

The East Ramapo Board of Education has appointed Deborah Wortham as superintendent -- a job she has held as interim since October.

School board members said they chose to keep her on after doing an extensive, nationwide search for a new leader for the troubled district.

SEE: Politicians Fight over East Ramapo School Control

"I applaud the hiring of Dr. Deborah Wortham as the next Superintendent of the East Ramapo Central School District," said Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester). "Her experience and leadership are only exceeded by her commitment to providing our students with the education they need and deserve. As this past school year has shown, she is a tremendous addition to the East Ramapo community and inspires our students to achieve their dreams. I look forwarding to continuing to work with Dr. Wortham to overcome the challenges the district faces to ensure our children receive the best education possible."

Here's the district's statement, from Board of Education President Yehuda Weissmandl:

Last year, school board members made a commitment to conduct a comprehensive search for a new superintendent. We took input from the community and consulted a variety of education experts on the skills and qualifications that were needed most. We engaged a national recruitment firm, interviewed several candidates and deliberated carefully. The search process is now complete and board members are prepared to vote on the individual whom we believe is best suited to lead East Ramapo moving forward. It is the same person who has led our district over the last several months on an interim basis – Dr. Deborah L. Wortham. Dr. Wortham has proven herself again and again during her time as interim superintendent. She is a large part of the reason for our progress since last year, and we want her to continue and expand her role. Toward this end, the board will vote on a motion to offer Dr. Wortham a contract at its next meeting. After that, counsel for the district will work out the details of the contract with Dr. Wortham and submit it for final approval by the board at its June 7th meeting. There is still a great deal of work to do in East Ramapo, but we are confident that with Dr. Wortham leading us, the process of reforming the district will continue and that we will build on our success.

Assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Ken Zebrowski also issued a statement:

“We congratulate Dr. Deborah Wortham on her appointment as permanent Superintendent in East Ramapo. As Interim Superintendent her experience and expertise have served her well in establishing positive working relationships with students, parents and the Board. We are hopeful that she will continue to address the complex challenges facing the District and to respond to the serious concerns that have been raised. We look forward to working with Dr. Wortham and the Board to implement significant improvements in education as well as building infrastructure and to developing a long-term solution that will ensure the public school students receive the quality education they deserve.”