Published in the April 22, 2016 edition

MELROSE — The School Committee agreed last week to hire a company for the rest of the school year to do the work of Director of Finance and Administrative Affairs Jay Picone, who leaves Friday for a new job at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical School.

In a memo to the school board, Supt. of Schools Cyndy Taymore told members the seach for Picone’s successor has not been as successful as hoped.

“The search … has not been fruitful. The search committee interviewed 3 out of 14 applicants and sent forward two finalists. Each candidate spent a half day in Melrose meeting with the district leadership team and the business office staff. Patrick Dello Russo, the city’s Chief Financial Officer, and I interviewed the two candidates. Everyone was invited to provide me with feedback on each candidate.

“After much discussion and thought, I decided not to hire either candidate. As I explore our options, I have asked Dan Sullivan and Toni Mertz from CliftonLarsonAllen LLP to provide services on a contractual basis to complete the school year, including, but not limited to, preparation of warrants, preparing and overseeing payrolls, compliance with state regulations and completion of all federal and state reports.

“Dan Sullivan, formerly of Sullivan and Rogers, has been a consultant to both the Melrose Public Schools and the City of Melrose. He is familiar with our accounting practices, MUNIS and municipal regulatory requirements. Toni Mertz currently is consulting to the Malden Public Schools in a similar capacity.

Below is an outline of the expected fees and schedule:

• Services performed by manager $150 per hour Services performed by principal $150 per hour

• Services performed by associate $125 per hour

Services performed by manager or principal estimated 16 hours per week. Services performed by associate estimated 8 hours per week

“I am requesting that the School Committee transfer the remainder of Mr. Picone’s salary ($15,642.27) to the contractual services line as a source of funding to pay the consultants,” Taymore concluded.