Patricia Sullivan-Kriss selected new superintendent for West Hempstead schools
The West Hempstead Board of Education unanimously appointed Patricia Sullivan-Kriss, seen here in an undated photo, as the district's new superintendent of schools. Credit: West Hempstead / Handout
Patricia Sullivan-Kriss will work a little closer to home next year, when she becomes superintendent of the 2,250-student West Hempstead school district.
The Rockville Centre resident, who has been superintendent of the 4,000-student Hauppauge school district for nearly 10 years, was the unanimous choice of West Hempstead's school board Tuesday at a business meeting.
"We are excited to welcome Ms. Sullivan-Kriss to the West Hempstead school district," board president Karen Brohm said in a news release Wednesday. "I am confident that her depth and breadth of experience, as well as her innovation in the education field, will lead our district to the next level of success."
Sullivan-Kriss' term in the job will run from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2020.
Her appointment follows the announced retirement of current Superintendent John Hogan, after nine years on the job. He made $229,000 a year. But Sullivan-Kriss, who grossed $297,172 in the 2014-2015 school year, will be paid much less next year.
It was not clear that she plans to retire from Hauppauge schools, but her contract with West Hempstead indicates that she will receive the maximum for a retired person under 65, which is $45,000 for the first three years and $225,000 for the last year.
At Hauppauge, she has been credited with leading the implementation of numerous programmatic changes for students, including Foreign Language in Elementary Schools, Innovations Math (K-6), a literacy collaborative, the International Baccalaureate program, Advanced Placement enhancements and a travel abroad program.
She also developed and implemented a $1.5 million technology initiative and a multiyear plan to address facility improvements.
Sullivan-Kriss, 60, is president-elect of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, which provides professional development opportunities for its members and advocates on a local, state and national level for public education.
"I welcome the opportunity to serve as West Hempstead's next superintendent of schools, and I look forward to meeting the staff, parents and students of this great district," Sullivan-Kriss said in the news release. "I am excited to continue the district's upward trajectory and to introduce expanded opportunities for all students."
