BOCES to aid in Smithtown superintendent search

Western Suffolk BOCES has been hired to lead the Smithtown school district's search for a new superintendent.

Superintendent Edward Ehmann announced last month that he would retire at the end of the school year in June.

School board members heard a brief presentation about the search at a meeting Tuesday night. Western Suffolk BOCES led Smithtown's last superintendent search five years ago, which ended with the hiring of Ehmann.

School district residents would be invited to take part in a survey on the district's website, said Michael J. Mensch, Western Suffolk BOCES chief executive, and Paula Klingelhoefer, executive director of instructional support services. Results of the survey would be considered when superintendent candidates are interviewed, Mensch and Klingelhoefer said.

They said finalists may be interviewed in May, and the school board would select a new superintendent by July.

The search will cost about $15,000, school board president Gladys Waldron said.