CLAREMONT — The SAU 6 School Board announced Saturday night it has selected Michael Tempesta as the new superintendent for the district, which includes Claremont and Unity.
Pending successful contract negotiations, Tempesta will begin work July 1, the start of the district’s next fiscal year. He and Cory LeClair, the SAU 6 assistant superintendent, were the two finalists for the position from an original applicant pool of 15.
Tempesta currently is the executive director of the Central Massachusetts Special Education Collaborative in Worcester, Mass., and previously he was superintendent of schools in Saugus, Mass., and held positions of high school principal and assistant principal in Milford, Mass.; Ashland, Mass.; and Sharon, Mass.
Chip Baldwin, principal of Unity Elementary School and a member of the search committee that recommended Tempesta to the SAU 6 board, said Tempesta has the skills, experience and temperament that fit the district’s needs.
“I think he has the attributes we were looking for through this process,” Baldwin said. “He stood out as having the skills we need at this time — the ability to listen, build relationships, bring people along and hold people accountable.”
Baldwin also said Tempesta’s references were “impeccable.”
In the news release announcing his selection, the SAU quoted a colleague from Saugus, who said, “Mike led by example and earned the respect of the Saugus Public School’s Leadership Team.
“Mike is a skilled, committed, and capable school leader. Nothing has served Mike better during his superintendent term than good judgment and consistent communication with all.”
Tempesta replaces Middleton McGoodwin, who was pressured into resigning by the board last spring.
LeClair served as acting superitendent until Keith Pfeifer was hired in August for an interim role. Pfeifer remains on administrative paid leave after an incident at the SAU office last month that required a police presence and ended with Pfeifer leaving the premises. The SAU board has declined to provide details of what happened because it was a personnel matter. Since the incident, LeClair has been serving as acting superintendent. It is not clear if Pfeifer will return to work before his contract expires in June.
