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Hyde Park superintendent proposes central-office reorganization, board hears details and community concerns
Summary
Superintendent Pedro Roman outlined a plan to eliminate the deputy superintendent role and redistribute responsibilities across three assistant superintendents, citing an HR audit and projected net savings of about $227,000; board members and a public commenter asked about timing, posting requirements and perceived pay increases.
Superintendent Pedro Roman told the Hyde Park Central School District Board of Education on July 1 that he is proposing a reorganization of central office that would eliminate the deputy superintendent position and redistribute duties across three assistant superintendents to “streamlin[e] leadership structures” and strengthen student supports.
Roman said the changes are driven in part by recommendations from an HR audit and by a desire to align professional development, evaluations and Title IX oversight under human resources. “This is more than just changing of titles. This is really focused on efficiency, and and improvement, in terms of streamlining processes, ensuring that, our administrators are getting the supports that they need,” Roman said during the presentation.
The plan would create (1) an assistant superintendent for student support services to oversee guidance, special education, bilingual learners, McKinney-Vento and residency matters; (2) an assistant superintendent for human resources and professional development to take responsibility for onboarding, recruitment, professional development (My Learning Plan), APPR evaluations and Title IX administration; and (3) keep finance and operations intact while elevating an administrative clerk role into an accountability/managerial title to handle day-to-day residency, registration and similar tasks.
Roman presented estimated personnel cost changes: eliminating the deputy position (including benefits) would remove about $275,000 from the payroll line for that role; the recommended retitlings and adjustments would increase comparably sized positions by roughly $8,000 (student supports), $25,000 (HR and PD) and $15,000 (accountability manager). Roman said those increases were benchmarked against market rates for similar districts and that the net effect of the reorganization would be a projected savings of about $227,000.
Board members asked implementation questions. One member sought clarification on whether the HR assistant-superintendent role must be posted; Roman said he would confirm with district attorneys but indicated the district could retitle an existing position. Board members also pressed for detail on which clerical and personnel roles would move between divisions and whether any current staff would lose positions. Roman said existing personnel associates and assistants “all keep their jobs” and that some clerical support currently assigned to the deputy superintendent would be reallocated.
A member of the public, Nancy Hoffman of 81 West Longmeadow Drive, spoke during public participation and urged earlier public notice of restructurings tied to the budget process: “My main question or concern is that this is the second or third time that we've restructured at central office or brought it up after the budget vote… I would like to see these things happen before the budget vote so it's included in the budget presentation,” Hoffman said.
Board members also raised concerns about community perception. One board member summarized constituent feedback that a recently hired administrator who received an initial salary adjustment less than two months earlier now stands to have the job retitled with additional compensation; the member said the optics have stirred questions and urged the board and administration to consider policy language or timing that limits large pay adjustments so soon after hiring.
Roman described next steps as seeking board feedback on the retitling, confirming civil-service and posting requirements with counsel, and continuing work to implement the district’s strategic blueprint for 2025–26. He emphasized that the reorganization is intended to reduce central-office headcount by one position while redistributing major duties to improve oversight of instruction, professional development and compliance work.
Board members did not take a final vote on the reorganization at the July 1 meeting; Roman requested the board’s feedback and support for retitling and implementation planning.
