GUILDERLAND — The new superintendent of buildings and grounds for the Guilderland School District grew up working on a farm.
"Growing up on a farm, you were always tinkering with something, getting it to work," said Clifford Nooney. "I wanted to start on a trade when I worked, use my hands. That’s what I know how to do."

Nooney has worked his way up from hands-on electrical work to being an area maintenance leader at Owens-Corning.

He’ll start his new job for the school district in June and earn $75,000 annually.

The school board appointed him after an executive session last Tuesday.

There were 57 applicants for the job, more than double the number who applied to fill the superintendent of schools position, which will open in the fall when the current superintendent retires.
"He has strong supervisory skills," said Neil Sanders, assistant superintendent for business, who was on the committee that selected Nooney for the post. "He currently supervises 21 employees. He’s used to a union environment."

Sanders went on to tell The Enterprise that Nooney is "open." Sanders elaborated, "He accepts input from employees. He has a good disposition and has construction knowledge."

Nooney replaces Ward Humphrey who was put on administrative leave in December after being hired as superintendent of buildings and grounds in 1991. Neither Humphrey nor the school district would say what the charges were. The Enterprise obtained a copy of the settlement agreement through a Freedom of Information Law request.
The agreement says that the superintendent of schools had advised Humphrey that he "is considering preferring disciplinary charges" against him and that Humphrey denied any charges and said they could be "vigorously defended" so Humphrey and the school district "mutually agreed to resolve the matter without the need for a hearing or any other litigation."

The school board unanimously accepted Humphrey’s resignation on Feb. 6. Humphrey’s salary for the 2006-07 school year was $73,111.

"I will listen"

Nooney, who grew up in Feura Bush, lives there still — with his wife, Julie, the assessor for the town of New Scotland. They have two children — Matthew, 12, and Rachel, 10. The family’s house is next to the Feura Bush town park.

After graduating from high school at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, Nooney went to Hudson Valley Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in electrical construction and maintenance.
After that, he said, "I worked on the industrial end."

He’s been at Owens-Corning for the last 12 years. The Delmar business, which makes insulation, employs 350 people.
He had 20 workers reporting directly to him at Owens-Corning, said Nooney. He described his job as "mainly running electrical operations and a portion mechanical."

In his new job at Guilderland, Nooney will be overseeing a staff of 60 to 70, he said, with three key direct supervisors. Nooney is looking forward to the challenge.
"I have a good personality for it," he said. "I listen to people. I listen to what they have to say. I value people’s opinions. The people who do the work can make or break any organization."
Asked about his goals for the new job, Nooney said, "My first priority is to get to know the people."

Nooney has served on the RCS School Board for four years — he was elected for a three-year term and then appointed for an additional year. He’ll be retiring from the board on June 30.
Nooney ran for the school board of his alma mater, he said, because "I have two children in the school district." He went on, "That was my vested interest for running. I had no agenda."
Nooney chaired the RCS building and grounds committee for three years. Serving on the school board, he said, gave him "a unique perspective on operations."

Nooney said he got to see the different negotiations from the management side of the table.
He went on, "I can speak school-board language and budgets. I know the issues schools face and how the State Education Department works."
About his long-term plans, Nooney said, "I hope to be at Guilderland awhile. I did 12 years at Owens-Corning. I don’t jump around."
Asked if it would be difficult to follow Humphrey and his unexplained departure, Nooney said, "I don’t think so...I will form my own opinions. I will listen to people and what they have to say and what their concerns are."
He concluded, "I plan to meet people. There’s a lot of ground to cover. I’m not going into the job with any pre-formed notions."