M-W schools chief retires

CENTRAL VALLEY-Frank Moscati, the superintendent of schools for the Monroe-Woodbury School District since October, is retiring July 31. He will be replaced on an interim basis by John C. Canzoneri, who has previously served the district as the interim assistant superintendent for human resources. Moscati, who is 58, said he is in good health. He described his decision to retire, after 34 years as an educator, simply: "It's time." He will leave behind a growing district, with more than 1,200 employees and a student enrollment of more than 7,500 that has grown by more than 100 students each fall semester for the last several years. The district's reputation, based on the success of its students and the variety of its academic, cultural and athletic programs, is such that real estate brokers use it as a selling point. "I believe the district to be well-positioned to meet the challenges of the future," Moscati said in his letter to the staff. In an interview earlier this week, Moscati said he was sorry that the district's $119 million budget was defeated last month, leaving Monroe-Woodbury to operated on an austerity budget - it will total $117 million - for the second time in three years. But the district remains in good shape because of the caliber of its staff and such things as the labor contracts completed during the school year that include contributions to health insurance plans. The school board will be looking for a superintendent for the second time in as many years. The board first named Moscati interim superintendent following the retirement last year of Terrence Olivo, who had lead the district for 15 years. The board removed the "interim" part of the title in October in naming Moscati to the $170,000 job. School Board President Claire Perez acknowledged Moscati's work in her letter to staff announcing the change. "It is his leadership and guidance that positions the board of education to be able to move ahead confidently in the coming months as we search for a superintendent candidate." Canzoneri, whose resume includes positions as superintendent of the Greenwood Lake School District and the interim superintendent in Chester, steps in July 7. He will be work with John Staiger Jr. and Carole O'Neill, who head up the district's financial and curricular areas, respectively. In his career, Moscati had been a teacher, an elementary school principal, a school board president (for the Rhinebeck School District) and school superintendent (for the Port Jervis School District) before his coming to Monroe-Woodbury in 1989. In an interview last October, Moscati discussed what students and parents expect from the district: "The kids get an experience that when they leave here, they are able to do what they want to do, that as people they will be able to connect the dots and be involved in the world, that the programs at the school will provide a life path that might not have been open to their parents."