Karen Salmon, superintendent of the Bay Shore School District.

Karen Salmon, superintendent of the Bay Shore School District. Credit: Handout

Bay Shore's third schools superintendent in as many years says she's committed to meeting new state learning standards and making sure students are prepared for college and beyond.

Karen B. Salmon said by email the most important goal this year is to "engage every student" in learning the state's Common Core Learning Standards. "These standards will ensure that each student will graduate from Bay Shore High School college and career ready," she said.

Salmon is preparing to try to meet academic requirements that have angered a number of Long Island educators because new tests administered this year have lowered the scores -- and esteem -- of what have historically been among the state's best testing students.

More than 126,000 Long Island students scored below proficiency on state math tests this year, compared with fewer than 51,000 in 2012. More than 122,000 students received subpar scores on the latest English tests, compared with fewer than 68,000 in 2012.

She has the school board's support.

Board member Guy Leggio described Salmon as a "quality" candidate who retired from Talbot County Public Schools in Maryland at the end of the last school year. "I believe we got a very good candidate for the money we're paying, and I believe Bay Shore is going to be very happy," he said.

Salmon, head of her district in Maryland since 2003, was hired by the board on May 29, after interim superintendent Edmund Frazier retired. Frazier stepped in after the sudden December 2012 retirement of former superintendent Peter J. Dion, who the board hired in 2011.

Salmon has a three-year contract with the district that starts near the mark where Dion's three-year contract would have ended. Salmon will be paid a base salary of $240,000 the first year, $255,000 the second and $260,000 the third year. Dion was to make $241,532 in the third year, stepping up each year from $229,000.

Like Dion, Salmon will get 35 vacation days per year and a $400 monthly allowance to "defray the cost of utilization" of her personal car. And like her predecessor, the Bay Shore district will not pay for her health insurance costs, which will be paid by her former district. She will also have a $250,000 life insurance policy, $50,000 more than the district's last superintendent.The search for Salmon was conducted by longtime district superintendent Evelyn Holman, who retired in 2011, Leggio said, adding that the district saved about $18,000 by not hiring a search firm, as they did for Dion.

A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We’re celebrating Women’s History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

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Celebrating Women's History Month at Newsday A winemaker. A jockey. An astronaut. We're celebrating Women's History month with a look at these and more female changemakers and trailblazers with ties to long Island. 

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