PORTLAND — Superintendent Jim Morse has chosen four additional people to take top spots in the new leadership team that he’s developing to oversee the city’s public schools, according to the superintendent’s office.

The School Committee will consider the following appointments when it meets in August:

• Michael Wilson of Falmouth has been named to the new position of chief financial officer, with a yearly salary of $110,000. He is a certified public accountant and lawyer who formerly held positions with Pierce Atwood in Portland and Coopers & Lybrand in Springfield, Mass., according to the superintendent’s office. Currently a financial consultant, Wilson’s experience includes municipal assessment, tax litigation and financial oversight.

• Bonnie Violette, who was hired earlier this summer as a consultant, has agreed to stay on as one of two special education coordinators in the district. Violette is currently special education administrator in Westbrook public schools and has held various teaching and administrative positions in several Maine school districts. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders anthropology and three master’s degrees: in educational leadership, in communication disorders and in computer technology in education. Her annual salary will be $105,000. The other special education coordinator will be Chris Kaufman, the district’s lead school psychologist, whose annual salary will be $87,628. Violette and Kaufman will assume the duties of Barbara Dee, former special education director, whose position was eliminated following a negative review of Portland’s special education programs.

• Daniel Chuhta of Portland has accepted the new position of science and math curriculum coordinator, with a yearly salary of $78,911. He is the state’s training coordinator for a new system that tracks individual student performance over multiple years. His background includes teaching science at Massabesic Junior High School in Waterboro from 2000 to 2005. He has a master’s degree in curriculum development and instructional technology. He will work closely with Mary Capobianco, who earlier this summer accepted the new position of language arts and humanities curriculum coordinator, with a yearly salary of $84,000.

• Jerry Blazek has accepted the position of human resources coordinator, with a yearly salary of $82,000. He has been director of human resources, labor relations and affirmative action at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Conn., since 2004. His experience dates to the 1970s, when he was director of employment training administration for the Board of Commissioners in Athens County, Ohio. He was director of personnel and labor relations for the Ohio Department of Mental Health from 1981 to 1986, and director of labor relations and human resource information systems at the University of Southern Maine from 1986 to 2003. He’s expected to develop an effective system to track salaries, benefits and other information about the district’s nearly 1,200 employees.

Several administrative positions were eliminated to make way for these appointments.

Morse, who became superintendent one year ago, has said that the reorganization of central office staff won’t increase administrative costs.

In June, Morse appointed David Galin to the new position of chief academic officer. Galin was curriculum director of School Administrative District 51 in Cumberland and North Yarmouth for the past six years.

Morse has yet to hire someone to fill the new position of chief operations officer.

Staff Writer Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:

kbouchard@pressherald.com

 

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