Carmine Peluso, the RCSD Superintendent, is departing to accept a same position at Churchville-Chili

Rochester, New York – The next superintendent of the Churchville-Chili Central School District, Carmine Peluso, was named Tuesday morning.

Since Sept. 1, 2022, Peluso has been the superintendent of the Rochester City School District. Prior to being named as Lesli Myers-Small’s permanent replacement on Dec. 22, 2022, Peluso served as the district’s interim superintendent following her resignation.

Peluso will take over in Churchville-Chili the next day, succeeding Lori Orologio, who is retiring on June 30.

“I am excited to become a part of the Churchville-Chili Central School District,” Peluso said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting the students, staff, and families in our schools and community. I am committed to working with the administrative team and Superintendent Orologio to ensure a seamless transition.”

Since 2011, the RCSD has already had eight different superintendents.

The president of the Rochester Teachers Association, Adam Urbanski, expressed his well wishes to Peluso despite calling his leaving “unexpected”.

“I’ve heard from a lot of teachers already today and they said, ‘Oh no, here we go again,’ and they said ‘We’re so sad to lose Dr. Peluso,’” Urbanski said. “They trusted him, they respected him, and they had hopes that he would remain here for the long term.”

President of the RCSD Board of Education Cynthia Elliott expressed her “saddened” reaction upon learning on Tuesday of Peluso’s departure.

“We adore Dr. Peluso,” she said. “Some of us love him, and he was doing great work here. We thought that he would be here with us for six or seven years, so he can really see the outcome of the initiatives that he began, but that’s not the case. He had to make some family decisions and other decisions, and do what was best for him and what was best for his family. We wish him the best. Godspeed for him. We congratulate Churchville-Chili on getting an amazing superintendent.”

Peluso’s resignation follows the board’s approval of his reconfiguration plan, which called for the closure of eleven schools and the reopening of five others, and coincides with an uncertain future for the educational collaboration between East High School and the University of Rochester.

“Some of the things that we started to work on, we may have to delay just a bit,” Elliott said. “Then, we’ll make decisions around that.”

The budget for the upcoming school year will be presented by monitors from the New York State Education Department during the school board business meeting on Thursday.
The district is now looking for a new superintendent.

“We’re going to keep (our) course. We’ve started some good work,” said Elliott. “People can see it, and it does not have to stop because we’re losing a great superintendent. We can also find another great superintendent.”

Peluso’s decision was deemed “extremely unfortunate” for the city by Rochester Mayor Malik Evans in a statement he posted on Tuesday afternoon.

I have appreciated Dr. Peluso’s commitment to and leadership of our schools, as well as the strong relationship he and I have built. Together, we had begun to make important progress for the benefit of city students, and I am very sad to see him go.

The Rochester City School District must obtain and maintain strong leadership for the young people of our city. A successful educational system is critical to the success of Rochester, and the City stands ready to support the District as it embarks on this important transition.

In a statement, RCSD said in part, “We honor and value [Dr. Peluso’s] contributions and respect for his decision for him and his family. We will ensure a seamless transition as the actions we take today are our investments in tomorrow.”

The RCSD headquarters will host a press conference with Elliott and Peluso on Wednesday morning.