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Schools

Fleishman Details Reason For Leave, Talks About Budget

Chappaqua superintendent currently commutes between New York and Massachusetts to see family.

David Fleishman said that his decision to step down as superintendent of the Chappaqua Central School District was to spend more time with his family.

Since was he selected for the job in 2005, he has been living as a commuter. On the weekdays he is in New York to do his job, but on the weekends he comes home by Amtrak to see his family, who live in Brookline, MA.

While it was announced that they would relocate with him when he was hired, Fleishman said that this did not happen for "variety of factors," but nothing in particular. He did not want to discuss more about it.

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Fleishman said he has a terrific job that he likes so much, but also said that it's something he can't do forever, and decided that it was the right time to leave.

He said that he has not had enough time to be a parent, and that he wanted to spend more time doing it. Fleishman has twin 8-year-old boys who are currently in elementary school.

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With his departure, Fleishman said that the district is in a "really good place right now," and that it was a good time to leave.

Despite his long commute, Fleishman talked light-heartedly about it, comparing his routine to Vice President Joe Biden's extensive use of Amtrak when he was a senator from Delaware.

"He was 'Amtrak Joe,' I was 'Amtrak David," he said.

Jeffrey Mester, president of the board of education, said that Fleishman has done a terrific job and praised his administrators, saying that he built up a nice leadership team.

"We wish he would stay," he said. "We think he's terrific. He's done a great job."

On the other hand, Mester said, the board is accepting of the fact that his children and family live in Massachusetts and that he wants to spend time with his kids, "and I can't ever fault a person for that," he said.

Mester said that the board has two options for the replacement process. They could either select an interim superintendent – as they mentioned previously in the Feb. 12 email that announced Fleishman's departure – given the short time period before the next school year begins. Or if they have a good internal candidate they could have a shorter process. Given previous processes, Mester said it is likely that they would have an interim person.

With the announcement by the district having been made at the start of winter break, getting reactions from district parents at the time of the interviews was challenging. However, some were available to talk.

"I know that the Superintendent has been anxious to get back to the Boston area where his family is and I respect his decision to resign so he can do so," said Emily Bloom, who has two children at Horace Greeley High School. "Finding the right person to be the district's new 'Big Cheese' in a community like this will be no small task given our high standards and expectations and demanding population." 

"I just read the email as I was packing to go away," Joan Behren of Millwood said. "People seem to like Dr. Fleishman so it's a shame." 

While talking about the shape of the district, Fleishman also took time to talk about the budget for next year, which will be unveiled formally at the school board's Feb. 23 meeting. He said that there will be a modest budget increase in the low 2-percent range, which he said is good historically.

He said that it is the kind of budget "that is going to maintain the things that people in Chappaqua care about," and that it will preserve programs and class sizes. 

Regarding Fleishman's life after Chappaqua, it appears that he is close to finding work near home. The Boston Globe reports that he is one of three finalists being considered for a superintendent position in Newton, MA. 

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