Lamb: The new Pinto.
New Haven Public Schools has hired a new chief operating officer, five months after the resignation of previous COO Michael Pinto.
The Board of Education Monday evening voted to hire Thomas Lamb for the administrative post in a 5 – 1 vote. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur voted against the hire; Darnell Goldson was absent.
“I wish the board could have seen the other candidates and known what [Superintendent Iline] Tracey is choosing from. It’s a big, big position,” Jackson-McArthur said.
Lamb will administer operations from school meals to school buses to keeping air filters and boilers up to date in school buildings.
The new hire will start his job on May 5 at a salary of $145,000. This was ex-COO Michael Pinto’s starting salary too in 2019.
Lamb has managed facilities for a variety of companies and health care organizations over the last two decades. He currently works as the senior director of planning and real estate for the elderly housing organization Wartburg.
A veteran from Branford, Lamb has studied and worked in New Haven before. He has a bachelor’s degree from Albertus Magnus College and worked for a time at Cornell Scott-Hill Health. His wife, Susanne Lamb, organizes the parent-school relationship for children with disabilities at East Rock School.
Jackson-McArthur said that she knew some of the other candidates for the COO position and was disappointed in the hiring outcome.
Board member Darnell Goldson was not present at Monday’s meeting. However, he emailed a comment in advance to Tracey and his fellow board members.
“I am concerned about this candidate’s lack of experience, especially education management experience. He has never worked in a school based environment. He doesn’t seem to have much experience working with unions, especially school based unions,” Goldson wrote.
Board member Edward Joyner defended Tracey’s choice, saying that she is a longtime educator who acts in the best interests of New Haven students.
The one student board member present, Anthony Fiore, supported the hire. (Student representatives are non-voting members of the board.)
Pinto left his job as schools COO in November for a city attorney role.
The previous COO, Will Clark, led the school system’s operations for 11 years until his resignation in early 2019. During that time, Clark was instrumental in New Haven’s school construction boom, in bringing school meal prep in-house, outsourcing custodial and maintenance services and starting school-based health centers.
So he has no advanced degrees, no school district experience, no union management experience, and very little management experience. How does anyone think this is going to turn out well?
The last 2 COOs at least had more experience.
I suspect he was not the first choice.