School Superintendent Freund Resigns

Update:  11:05 am:

Board Chairman Steven Anderson blamed Freund's resignation on 'napalm' politics within the school board that he said did not provide key support of the 62-year-old Freund.

On Tuesday morning, Anderson said, “I am deeply disappointed. It was with great reluctance I had to accept this resignation letter. Sid has done some great things for the community with vitality and vigor … this was just a failure at the board level.”

Anderson added, “We need to make sure that we give him the correct direction and let him do what we hired him to do rather than snipping at him with questions on decisions made.”

Without making direct accusations, Anderson said, “Anybody who’s been at our meetings in the last 6 months has seen napalm politics … that you’re never done with the topic. This is collateral damage to napalm politics.”

In recent months, there have been several clashes between Freund and Republican board member Marianna Ponns Cohen over many issues including the expansion of the International Baccaulaureate program at the middle school level.

Anderson said the entire eight-member board is to blame for Freund’s decision. “It’s the failure of the entire board. We need to figure out how to correct that.,” Anderson said. Asked how the board can accomplish that, Anderson replied, “I don’t know obviously but we’re going to have to get tremendous focus. We cannot keep doing this our superintendents.”

The Greenwich school system has had eight superintendents in the past dozen years.

Original story:

Greenwich School Superintendent Dr. Sidney Freund has announced his resignation, effective in September, Greenwich Patch has learned.

Freund has been the district’s schools chief since 2009.

The announcement is an ironic twist coming just days after the Board of Education voted to begin contract extension negotiations with the veteran educator who began his career as a teacher in the New York City public school system in 1970. Freund, who earns $230,000 as the head of the 9,000-student Greenwich school system, is in the second-year of a three-year contract.

A message seeking comment from Board of Education Chairman Steven Anderson was not  immediately returned.

Freund made his announcement to the board during an emergency meeting early Tuesday at district headquarters on Greenwich Avenue, with Republican Peter Sherr attending via a telephone conference call. It was Sherr and fellow Republican Marianna Ponns Cohen who voted last Thursday not to begin contract extension negotiations with Freund.

*Editor's note: the original story has been corrected to reflect attendance by board member Peter Sherr.