Lew-Port appoints Roser to top job
Avoca educator to take over Oct. 1
LEWISTON — A 10-month search ended Tuesday night when the Lewiston-Porter School Board voted to appoint R. Christopher Roser as the district’s superintendent.
Roser, now superintendent of the Avoca School District in Steuben County, will step into the Lew- Port position Oct. 1.
He was one of two finalists in a search that began last October when 14 candidates submitted applications.
After meeting in closed session for more than two hours to discuss personnel matters, the School Board voted, 6-1, to appoint Roser.
Details of Roser’s contract and salary were not available after the vote, but board members previously said the district would offer a salary of up to $160,000, depending on a candidate’s experience.
“We have good news,” board President Robert Weller said shortly before the vote. “We approved a contract for a superintendent.”
The board has held several late-night executive sessions during the past two months to discuss the search.
Roser, who has served for four years as Avoca’s superintendent, worked as superintendent and principal of the Greenwald School District from 2000 to 2004. He has also held administrative positions at Hornell Junior-Senior High School, Wayland School District and the Steuben-Allegany Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
Lewiston-Porter has not had a superintendent since August 2005, when Whitney K. Vantine left for a position on Long Island. Vantine later took a position as superintendent of the Tonawanda City School District at a salary of
$150,000.
Assistant Superintendent Don W. Rappold has been serving as interim superintendent since Vantine’s departure. Rappold, who specializes in finance, operations and personnel, declined an offer from the board two years ago to serve as superintendent permanently.
The board voted to appoint Roser after an emotional three-hour meeting in which dozens of parents and teachers urged the board to reconsider its decision last month not to give tenure to Christa McClemont, school psychologist.
With three members abstaining, the board voted, 4-0, Tuesday to reverse that decision and end McClemont’s probationary employment period. The decision drew loud cheers and applause from the audience.
Kevin Jaruszewski, president of Lewiston-Porter United Teachers, said McClemont was never given any indication of any performance deficiencies before the board’s vote last month.
During a 15-minute public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, Niagara County Legislator John D. Ceretto, a Lewiston resident, was among five residents who spoke in support of McClemont.
“The right thing is support our children,“ Ceretto said. “Keep Christa here, and she’ll do wonderful things for the future of our children.”
