The future of the Sidney Center school building and the search for a replacement for the high school principal are on the agenda of tonight's Sidney school board meeting, said Superintendent Sandra Cooper.
The Sidney Central School Board of Education will discuss the possible auction of the former elementary school building when it meets at 7 p.m. in the high school library, Cooper said.
The Sidney Center building, which was closed in 2005 along with an elementary school in Masonville after diminished enrollment, has been listed with a commercial broker for about a year at $450,000, she said. No purchase offers were made. The Masonville building is being leased to a state agency.
"It's important for a district to explore every option when it has an unoccupied building for an extended time," she said.
For the principal opening, the board will interview in executive session the two finalists from 65 applicants. The position will open when high school Principal Annette Hammond leaves Thursday to become grades 7-12 principal at Gilbertville-Mount Upton Central School, Cooper said.
A decision could be made in about a week, she said. Hammond announced her resignation July 29, and she starts at G-MU on Aug. 19. Cooper said she did not have the amount of Hammond's current salary available Monday night.
In discussing the move, Hammond said Monday, "It's bittersweet."
She said she will miss the relationships she has made with students and staff during her five years as principal and three years as assistant principal.
"I really appreciate all the opportunities I've had in Sidney," she said.
But as a G-MU school district resident, and with principal Tonda Dunbar leaving to become superintendent at Stamford Central School, it was an opportunity Hammond said she couldn't pass up.
It's a chance to spend time in and give back to the community where she lives, she said.
G-MU is also the district where her three daughters _ ages 3, 5 and 9 _ are enrolled or will attend school, she said.
G-MU Superintendent Glenn Hamilton said Hammond's starting salary is $82,000.
"We're very pleased to have her," he said. She is a community member and "an experienced administrator, who came with tremendous references."
"It's been a pleasure working with Annette," Cooper said. "She is a dedicated administrator who is passionate about building positive connections with students, staff and parents."
"She will be missed," Cooper continued, "and we wish her all the best in her new position."
