School
districts short on leaders
Phillipsburg, Greenwich, Lopatcong need
superintendents. As the Phillipsburg superintendent search progresses through the interview phases, two other districts are beginning similar processes. New Jersey School Boards Association representative Joanne Borin said Phillipsburg School Board members interviewed seven candidates. They must now decide whom they'd like to bring back for further interviews, she said. "They had some very experienced candidates and a very fine pool of candidates," Borin said. She declined to comment more specifically about them. The district is seeking a permanent replacement for Gordon Pethick, the chief school administrator who left in January under an early separation agreement with the school board. George Chando, a longtime district educator and administrator, is filling in temporarily. School board members in the Lopatcong Township School District recently hired the New Jersey School Boards Association to help them replace outgoing Superintendent Mike Rossi. Both Phillipsburg and Lopatcong are paying the NJSBA $6,000 for its assistance, which includes advertising, culling resumes and varying levels of assistance with the interview process. Lopatcong School Board President Terry Glennon said the board used the service about three years ago when it selected Rossi to lead the prekindergarten-through-eighth-grade district of about 900 students. Rossi announced in May he accepted the superintendent seat in the Roxbury School District. Glennon said Rossi is leaving June 30 and the board is planning to name an interim superintendent while it searches for a permanent replacement. Borin said a NJSBA representative is planning to talk with Lopatcong district staff and school board members later this month about the qualities they think the next superintendent should have. She said community members can give their input during a 7 p.m. public meeting June 17. In Greenwich Township, school board President Denise Valle said they've just begun advertising for a new top administrator to replace Superintendent Kevin Brennan. Brennan, the superintendent since 1996, is leaving about Aug. 1 to serve as Warren County's executive superintendent. The district is not using NJSBA for its search. The prekindergarten-through-eighth-grade district has about 980 students. The district might need an interim administrator while searching for a permanent replacement, Valle said. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com. |