Schools

Roger Lulow Redux: Former Greenwich Schools Super Named Interim Head [Video]

Appointment for 1 year while school board conducts search for permanent superintendent.

With little fanfare, the rumor became reality Tuesday evening when the Greenwich Board of Education named former schools chief Roger Lulow as interim superintendent.

Lulow, 71, who served as Greenwich schools superintendent from 1998 to 2002, has agreed to a one-year contract to lead the 9,000-student school district while the school board conducts a search for a permanent successor to Dr. Sidney Freund. Freund, citing increased tensions with board members as leading to him tendering his resignation May 17, just days after the board voted to begin negotiations to extend his three-year contract.

Freund will leave the district Aug. 17 and Lulow will move into the school district's Havemeyer Building headquarters on Aug. 23 - less than two week before the start of the 2011-12 academic year. Following an unanimous 8-0 vote to approve Lulow's appointment, the education chief joked he was like a "cicada only it didn't take 17 years for me to return."

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

School board president Steven Anderson explained the board wanted someone with familiarity with the district and its issues, including student performance on state achievement tests. Last week, the Connecticut Department of Education released CMT and CAPT test results which indicated Greenwich students' scores slipped in several areas.

Lulow said test scores and plans on how to improve student achievement were among his top priorities. (Please see video for their explanations.)

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lulow, who will relocate from his native Ohio for the one-year appointment, will receive the same compensation package as his predecessor - $230,000 a year, as well as a car allowance. He and his wife Anne are spending this week looking for a temporary home. Beginning Wednesday, Lulow will be meeting with Greenwich school officials, including Freund.

Since he left Greenwich in 2002, Lulow has twice served as interim superintendent for the Elyria (OH) City School District, and is director of the Ohio State University National Academy for School Superintendents.


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