Auger Named Interim Superintendent, Succeeding Thornton

After accepting Superintendent Phillip Thornton's resignation Monday, the North Kingstown School Committee installed Philip Auger, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning since 2009, in the position on an interim basis.

Comments from several School Committee members indicate chances are good that Auger, who holds a doctorate, will end up with the job permanently. At one point, committee member Bill Mudge made a motion that Auger be appointed superintendent immediately. “We have a gem under our nose,” he said.

Committee member Melvoid Benson added that  Auger has been taking North Kingstown’s education in a .

But School Committee Chairwoman Kimberly Page, who had laid out a limited series of steps for the special meeting at North Kingstown High School, warned that such a move would be premature without community buy-in. Instead, she led the committee, minus Larry Ceresi, through a two-hour meeting that accomplished most of her goals.

First, with an audience of about 15 watching, the committee accepted the effective July 22. Page read a letter informing the committee that earlier that day, Thornton had accepted a position as superintendent of the school system in Cumberland.

Under his North Kingstown contract, Thornton, who began his tenure in March 2009, could have been required to stay for 90 days. Page said she had held conversations with Thornton and Auger about timing. They agreed that two weeks would be long enough for Thornton to bring Auger up to speed on key issues, including the $58 million school budget.

“I know a lot about the budget and I plan on learning a lot more in the next two weeks,” Auger said.

Next, the committee named Auger interim superintendent for an indeterminate period.

Step three was to settle on an interim salary. Page proposed the same wage that Thornton earned when he, like Auger, served as interim superintendent while also holding down the assistant’s job: $200 per day over his regular salary. After a lengthy discussion, the committee agreed.

Page then broached the subject of setting up a search committee for a new superintendent, as the committee has done twice since 2007. Richard Welch asked questions on how a search could be conducted at a lower cost than previous searches.

Lynda Avanzato suggested a different approach. Because Auger is already an obvious School Committee favorite, Avanzato questioned whether other good candidates would bother to undergo the extensive application process. She suggested that instead of a search committee, an “interview committee” should talk with Auger in a public forum to ascertain his goals for the schools and how he intends to achieve them.

The committee at first discussed a large interview committee that would include teachers, administrators, parents and the public, similar to previous search committees. “We need to be open and transparent,” said committeeman Joe Thompson.

But Page reminded the committee that search committee candidate interviews are always held in private. Only the School Committee interviews superintendent candidate finalists in public, and their questions are screened by the Human Resources Department in advance to ensure that they do not violate employment law.

Mudge argued for letting the members of the public ask the interim superintendent open-ended questions in a public forum. However, Page said that would violate employment procedures.

Eventually the committee concluded that as elected officials they represent the public, and that they can solicit opinions and questions. The committee voted to hold a public interview with Auger at an August meeting, and then give the public two weeks to comment. No decision on offering Auger a permanent contract will be made until the meeting after the public interview.