No super reception Educators skeptical about new state posts Wednesday, August 08, 2007 • By TRISH G. GRABER • The Express-Times TRENTON | Even before the jobs are filled, many in the education community are skeptical about 21 new executive county superintendents to be appointed by the governor. Developed from the Legislature's special session on property taxes, the executive county superintendents will replace existing county superintendents with a salary boost from $100,000 to $115,000 a year to $120,000, state Department of Education officials said. The executive county superintendents will focus on consolidating, sharing services and cutting unnecessary costs to reduce property taxes. "Local school officials are concerned about how much of a role politics will play in selecting these people and the role of that person," said New Jersey School Boards Association spokesman Mike Yaple. "Will that person be a partner or will they be an enforcer?" As opposed to the previous method of appointment by the education commissioner, the new executive county superintendents will be appointed by the governor with the recommendation of the commissioner and the consent of the Senate. Superintendents' duties In the first year on the job, an executive county superintendent will be charged with eliminating non-operating school districts -- those with school boards but no schools. Three years in, the superintendent will recommend a plan to abolish all non-kindergarten through 12th-grade districts by establishing regional school districts or expanding those that already exist. The plan would be sent to voters. Additional duties include recommending cooperative purchasing and consolidation of administrative duties and services. The executive county superintendent could also take exception to items in a district's budget, which could be appealed to the department of education. Those mandates have school board members wondering to what extent the county executive superintendents will exercise power. "Will they be changing bus routes, will they be telling school districts to hire and fire?" Yaple said. East Amwell Township School Board President Charles Miller, also a liaison to the NJSBA, said there is always concern when a new top official takes charge. "Until everything gets enforced, it's hard to make a judgment on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing," Miller said. He said taxpayers may benefit from shared purchasing agreements, especially if they were expanded to include school districts and municipalities. Brendan Gilfillan, a spokesman for Gov. Jon S. Corzine, said a committee of experts had its first meeting on the appointments last week but he could not speculate on the timing of the 21 appointments. Education department officials also declined comment on the timing. Process is well under way Former Warren County Superintendent William King, now assistant state education commissioner, told a contingent of school board members recently that a list of 20 candidates for the jobs were sent to the governor's office. The names were picked from interviews that took place in March, according to NJSBA reports. Since then, advertisements for those spots have appeared in newspapers. Department of education officials released little information on the ongoing hiring process. Education officials also declined a request for an interview with King. Sen. Leonard Lance voted against the bill to create the executive county superintendent. "I don't want another layer of bureaucracy," said Lance, R-Warren/Hunterdon counties. The New Jersey Education Association, representing 200,000 education employees, also expressed concerns about the potential politicization of the executive county superintendent job. "There was concern about the fact that they would be appointed by the governor," said NJEA spokeswoman Kathy Coulibaly. "We wanted to make sure these decisions were made with an eye toward education." Trish Graber is Trenton correspondent for The Express-Times. She can be reached at 609-292-5154.