Pethick: I'm not living in fear Board must decide before July whether to renew school leader. Sunday, June 03, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | Schools Superintendent Gordon Pethick does not fear the elephant in the room. June is a pivotal month for the Phillipsburg School District. Before July, school board members must decide whether they plan to keep Pethick beyond the 2007-08 school year. "Would I like to be renewed? Of course, because I think there is more work to be done," said Pethick, 58. "Am I going home worrying at night? No." Pethick's three-year contract expires at the end of next June, but the board is contractually obligated to notify the chief administrator of its intentions by the end of this month. Pethick earns $143,000 in salary and longevity pay. The Allentown resident has been superintendent since 1999, and this will mark his third notification year. "It's never been an issue," Pethick said. "It's never even come up for discussion." The June 25 board meeting has been scheduled as a public hearing for the board to discuss administrators' contracts. However, the board could give the notification before then. Board President Paul Rummerfield said he has no idea which way the board will swing on this issue. Rummerfield said without board discussion in the previous two notification years, Pethick was renewed automatically. "This is something that should have been done at least two other times," Rummerfield said. "If he's going to be renewed, it should be because the board says so, not because of a technicality." Several disputes at school board meetings over the former labor attorney, the expired teachers' contract and the public firing of a principal have put Pethick at odds with more than half of the school board. In April, a split board placed a ceremonial "no confidence" vote in Pethick regarding the negotiations with teachers. That came after Pethick filed an ethics complaint against board negotiations committee chairman Kevin DeGerolamo; the complaint was dismissed. Then last month, in a similar vote, the board rejected Pethick's recommendation and decided not to renew Andover-Morris Principal Jeanette Gilliland. "It's been a challenging year," Pethick said. "Sometimes it can get frustrating." At board meetings over the past year, the subject of this being Pethick's notification year has come up several times, most notably in January when town council president David DeGerolamo, Kevin's brother, took issue with some perks in Pethick's contract. A district employee since 1972, Pethick has had tenure for more than 30 years. If the board were to move on after June 30, 2008, without a tenure proceeding, Pethick could fall back to a prior position at his current salary. He said any personal action would depend on family issues. Pethick said he could see himself retiring in the next decade, but he's not counting the years yet. Even if he does retire, Pethick said, he would want to return to teaching high school math -- his first job with Phillipsburg. Either way, Pethick said he has no regrets in the way he's done his job. "I have never shortchanged this district, and I never ever would." Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com.