Superintendent Search Down to Three Candidates

The search for the next superintendent of Stratford schools is down to three individuals, Board of Education Chairman Gavin Forrester tells Stratford Patch.

"We hope to have an announcement prior to Dr. [Irene] Cornish's departure," Forrester said in an email.

He said the candidates are from outside the Stratford school system and are all currently employed in districts throughout Connecticut.

Departing Supt. Cornish retires at the end of the 2012 after nine years at the post.

"We have enjoyed statewide acclaim for award-winning schools and staff; and can take particular pride in our efforts to close the achievement gap," Cornish wrote in a letter to Forrester announcing her intent on retiring to spend winters in Mexico.

To help them in the decision, the school board earlier this year asked residents to fill out a five-question superintendent survey.

"Mike Feeney will make a great superintendent," Moe S. wrote in the comments section of the article on the survey, published on Stratford Patch in September.

Linda Palermo agreed: "I'll second that," she wrote. "Mike Feeney is a well-rounded person, very personable; interacts well with most and he is a great family man."

However, as the current chief operating officer for Stratford schools, Feeney is not one of the three people up for the job.