Committee hires first PR person for district

01:00 AM EST on Thursday, December 18, 2003

BY MEGAN MATTEUCCI
Journal Staff Writer


NORTH KINGSTOWN -- The School Committee voted 5 to 2 last night to hire the district's first public relations official -- a position endorsed by Supt. James M. Halley.

The School Committee's move comes at a time when parents are circulating a petition for Halley's firing and threatening to vote out the School Committee if action is not taken.

Janice Hall-Stinson will become the first school district public relations manager in South County. The job starts Feb. 2.

Hall-Stinson will be paid $55,000 a year as the district's "resource development manager," which includes grant writing, development and public relations.

Halley and School Committee Chairman Donald DeFedele declined to discuss the hire, saying it is a confidential personnel matter. They declined to release Hall-Stinson's resume.

According to a job description, Hall-Stinson will be "responsible for the development, coordination and linkage of district and community resources with a focus on public relations, funds development and education support."

The administration's decision to create the new position follows several controversial stories in the Journal and the local weekly papers involving parents, state and federal officials' claims of mismanagement and negligence by Halley.

Community members have criticized Halley for his decisions, including reconfiguration plans, management of the new high school construction, teachers union negotiations and, most recently, the handling of several roof replacement projects. The roof work resulted in two evacuations from Stony Lane Elementary School that caused several students and faculty to reportedly become ill.

Last night, several School Committee members said they had little information about the hiring decision, job responsibilities, search process and other applications.

Vice Chairwoman Denise A. Coppa and committee member William C. Mudge voted against the new hire, saying they disagree with the policy not to include all School Committee members in the selection process.

"A position like this is so key to the functioning of the school district," Coppa said. "The people that made the final cut should go by the whole School Committee. So, I can't support this appointment."

A request by committee member Mudge to see applications from other candidates was turned down. "We need to weigh the qualifications with the responsibilities," he said.

DeFedele said the School Committee had already approved the job description and given the administration the go-ahead to move forward with the search.

Human Resources Director William Daly said new hires are handled by the administration, and only one School Committee representative sits on a search committee. A candidate is then recommended to the School Committee to be hired. School Committee member Barry Martasian served on the search committee along with Daly, curriculum director Barbara Fitzsimmons and Donna Thomas.

"Anyone interested in this committee should have spoken up," Halley said. "All positions in the School Department, with the exception of the superintendent, [are] recommended to the School Committee."

Hall-Stinson is the former director of development for Travelers' Aid of Rhode Island and before that she was director of development and public relations for the Women's Resource Center of South County.