Mucci Is Superintendent 2.0

    After several months of interviews and a new administrative model, the Springs School Board announced on Friday that Dominic Mucci, the Springs superintendent from 1999 to 2002, will return to the role as interim superintendent, effective July 2.

    In a release, the school board president, Kathee Burke Gonzalez, said, “We are thrilled to have Dominic back serving in the new role of part-time superintendent. Dom is a professional committed to excellence. He brings energy, passion, and a wealth of experience back to Springs. He knows our district and is familiar with the issues we face, including the complexities of working under the 2-percent tax levy cap. With Dom’s 12 years of experience as a superintendent, he should prove to be an outstanding mentor for our principal, Eric Casale. The team of Dominic and Eric promises to be a dynamic force at Springs next year.”

    “It’s not often in your career that you get a second chance,” Mr. Mucci said on Friday evening. “Last time I was here, I was just a puppy.”

    “I’m thrilled to death,” he said, as he signed his new contract with the school board.

    Mr. Mucci’s role as part-time superintendent is part of a new initiative at Springs to create a different administrative model, one that also includes a full-time assistant principal, who is yet to be named. Mr. Mucci retired from the North Bellmore school district in 2008 and then served as superintendent for the Englewood Cliffs school system in New Jersey. He and his wife, Debi Holmes-Mucci, who was known as “Miss Debi” and formerly operated a dance school in East Hampton, already have a home in Springs.

    The departing Mr. Hartner’s most recent salary was $190,000 a year, not including benefits, retirement package, and health insurance, which brought the total closer to $238,000. Mr. Mucci is beginning his re-entry to Springs at $105,000, without additional benefits, sick days, insurance, or pension program.