Amagansett Surprise: Dr. Aman Gives Notice

In what came as a surprise to district residents, George Aman, Amagansett School's Superintendent for the past five and a half years, resigned yesterday afternoon at a special meeting of the Amagansett School Board to accept a job in a much larger district in Nassau County.

News of his resignation, effective on Jan. 1, was posted on the bulletin board in the school lobby after the meeting, at about 2:30 p.m.

Board members said they knew Dr. Aman had had inquiries from another district in the past month, and learned after the Oct. 15 School Board meeting that he was a finalist for the position.

Surprised At Pace

Dan Gualtieri, a board member, said the board was "surprised" at how quickly the decision had been made. The Nassau district had sought Dr. Aman out and invited him to apply a little over a month ago.

"We knew all along that Dr. Aman was at the top of his profession and the speed in which this went through proves that," he said. He added that the board had hoped Dr. Aman would not leave until the start of the next academic year even if he decided to take a new job.

The board will hold a special meeting to discuss the Superintendent's resignation on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

"It's news to me," said Edward J. Milliken, Superintendent of the Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, yesterday, saying that it was correct protocol for a Superintendent to go first to the board of education with such news.

Dr. Aman would not name the school district or the particular position he was headed for.

Years Of Criticism

While the swiftness of the process came as a shock, the change was not entirely unexpected. "He put in a tough year, but stood tall," said Mr. Gualtieri.

Indeed, over the past year and a half the Superintendent had handled a lot of criticism. Some residents took issue with the board's decision to let him return to live in a house the district owns, when he had built one of his own the year before. They also complained that the rent Dr. Aman was to pay was under market value. Much was also made of the extension of his contract through 2001, a decision made by the board without giving the community a chance to be heard.

"In the 25 or 27 years I have worked in public administration and teaching, I always felt I had the professional respect and trust needed to do a good job," he said yesterday. "For the last year or so, I didn't feel I had that." The "hyper-criticism" had been difficult for his family, as well, he said.

Difficult Decision

"All the way in Nassau County, they had copies of the Newsday article, and they knew not everything was as comfortable for me as it might have been," he said.

It was this atmosphere that, in part, made him begin seeking out other opportunities. Still, Dr. Aman said, it was not a choice easily reached. The larger district will create more opportunities for him, but also "more opportunities for my little guy, who has special education needs," he said, referring to an elementary school-aged son.

Mr. Gualtieri said Dr. Aman had "done a lot of great things for the school," crediting him with handling the budget with expertise and holding teachers to the highest standards. Before he leaves Amagansett, the board hopes Dr. Aman will help get the 1997-98 district budget at least 80 percent complete.

"Raising the standards was part of his mission. It was very difficult and it did not always make the staff happy," said Mr. Gualtieri.

"We feel we have the best instructional staff on the East End this year and it took him a long time to develop that. Sadly, we'd like to see him stay to see how far he could take this staff."

Dr. Aman said he was proud of the staff, as well, to have seen improvement in the students' academic performance over the past five and a half years, and the installation of computers in every classroom.