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Continued shake-up for Ackerman team in Philadelphia schools

A state education official will be joining the Philadelphia School District, and others there will get new jobs in a leadership shake-up announced Friday by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

A state education official will be joining the Philadelphia School District, and others there will get new jobs in a leadership shake-up announced Friday by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

Diane Castelbuono, a deputy secretary in the Pennsylvania Department of Education, will become the associate superintendent of strategic programs. Castelbuono will oversee charter, turnaround, and Renaissance schools.

It is a new position, and officials could not immediately say what Castelbuono would be paid. A spokeswoman said Ackerman's changes would be "revenue-neutral," but it was not immediately clear where the money to pay Castelbuono would come from.

She worked in Philadelphia before joining Gov. Rendell's team in Harrisburg and at one time was head of the district's charter office.

David Weiner, formerly chief accountability officer, becomes chief academic and accountability officer. He makes $150,000 and will be Ackerman's third chief academic officer in two years.

Weiner replaces Pamela Brown, who will get another job in the academic office. District spokeswoman Evelyn Sample-Oates said she did not know what Brown's new title would be.

Tomas Hanna, formerly Ackerman's chief of staff, takes on the new job of associate superintendent of academics. He will oversee the offices of academics and accountability, parent and community engagement, student support service, and truancy. Hanna is paid $180,000.

Lucy Feria, who had been superintendent of the North Region, is the new deputy chief of multilingual curriculum and programs.

Karen Kolsky, who had been an assistant superintendent in the Northeast Region, is now deputy chief of professional development.

Michael Sonkowsky, who had been director of the Office of Grants Development and Support, is now deputy chief of grants development and compliance.

The announcement did not include salary information for Feria, Kolsky, and Sonkowsky, and a district spokeswoman said late Friday that it could not be provided.

In a statement, Ackerman said she looked forward to working with the new team.

"In their respective new positions, each of these talented professionals is empowered to use his or her significant knowledge and skills to further our goal of building a system of great public schools in Philadelphia," the superintendent said.

The changes are effective Thursday. For the time being, the officials' salaries would not change, but they could in the future, Sample-Oates said.

"We're trying to stay neutral within the budget," she said. "We've been instructed by the SRC not to go over budget."

Feria is the second regional superintendent to get a new job amid reports that Ackerman will scrap the regional structure, which has long been based on geography.

A shake-up of the communications staff is also imminent, according to Sample-Oates.

In recent weeks, Ackerman has made a number of moves within her administration. Last week, she promoted several principals to assistant superintendents and to turnaround principals overseeing restructured schools.

Earlier in the month, she named Leroy Nunery deputy superintendent and said that as her second-in-command, he would take responsibility for some day-to-day operations. Nunery now makes $230,000, up from the $180,000 he was paid as chief of strategic partnerships.