M-W's business chief weighs offer from New Rochelle school district

CENTRAL VALLEY — Monroe-Woodbury School District Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services Jeffrey White is entertaining a job with the City School District of New Rochelle in Westchester County.

In an online published report by The New Rochelle Talk on Thursday morning, White said he was “enthusiastic about this work and the opportunity to make a difference in New Rochelle schools.”

However, White said Thursday afternoon from an Albany conference he was attending that the New Rochelle district and he are still finalizing contract terms and conditions.

The Talk's online report did not reflect those issues were still being finalized, White said, and he has not formally resigned yet.

Surprise
That's why the published report took the community by surprise.

When initially contacted Thursday morning, Interim Superintendent Elsie Rodriguez said:

"I have not spoken to Mr. White regarding his taking this new position so I really have no comment.”

She later telephoned The Photo News to say that she had since spoken with White, who told her he had not yet signed the paperwork completing his hiring.

White joined the Monroe-Woodbury District in 2002. According to information was compiled by The Empire Center for New York State Policy, White's annual salary in June 2011 totaled more than $174,000.

During his time as the assistant superintendent for business, the Monroe-Woodbury's credit rating was upgraded, saving the district many thousands of dollars.

That, along with retirement incentive packages and a series of other measures, allowed the district to weather the recent economic turbulence without layoffs or program cuts.

If White takes the New Rochelle position, he will be the second top-ranking administrator to leave within the year. Last May, the Monroe-Woodbury School Board, under then President Eleni Carter, terminated the contract of School Superintendent Edward Mehrhof. The charges have never been publicly disclosed; Mehrhof has said he will fight the dismissal.

'Proven financial ... leadership'

The New Rochelle Talk reported White’s past experience included serving as fiscal administrator with the New York State Education Department. He was then appointed by the Commissioner of Education as financial administrator to oversee the first state takeover of a New York school district in Roosevelt on Long Island.

He also served in similar assistant superintendent positions in the Cold Spring Harbor Central School District as in Monroe-Woodbury and was school business administrator and purchasing agent in the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District, according to The Talk.

White, a certified public accountant, is a candidate for a doctoral degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in school administration from Long Island University as well as an MBA in accounting and bachelor’s degree in finance from St. John’s University.

“Mr. White is effective in leading all business operational areas we have in our schools,” said New Rochelle Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne in a statement in The Talk report. "We look forward to benefiting from his proven financial and administrative leadership.”

- Nancy Kriz