School & District Management

Hartford Promotes Assistant Superintendent To Top Job

By Christina A. Samuels — March 07, 2011 1 min read
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Christina Kishimoto, an assistant superintendent in the 26,500-student Hartford district in Connecticut will take over the top job this summer when current superintendent Steven Adamowski steps down.

The superintendent search in the district was noteworthy because Kishimoto, who oversaw secondary education, was among the candidates showing open interest in the position; usually superintendent searches are veiled in secrecy.

But her road to the appointment was anything but smooth. On Feb. 22, a few hours before the school board was expected to call a vote naming her to the position, the mayor of Hartford held a press conference calling for a national search.

The school board had earlier decided that a national search would only be needed if there were no internal candidates deemed qualified, but according to an article in the Hartford Courant, Mayor Pedro Segarra said that the appointment process “lacked transparency.”

The school board quickly cancelled its plans to appoint Kishimoto that day. Instead, the 13-member search committee reconvened a few days after the mayor’s press conference and then released a statement saying that it stands behind its selection of Kishimoto.

The second time around, the 6-2 vote March 2 to appoint Kishimoto went smoothly.

“Am I relieved? Of course,” Kishimoto told the Courant.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the District Dossier blog.