Dr. Butler begins work here Aug. 1
By: David Dankwa
MONTGOMERY — Barely a week after interviewing potential candidates, the Township Board of Education has chosen Thomas F. Butler, a former interim superintendent for the West Windsor-Plainsboro district, as the interim superintendent to replace Dr. Jamie Savedoff.
Dr. Butler — a retired superintendent who is serving as interim superintendent for Somerset Hills Regional Schools— is expected to assume the interim superintendency here Aug. 1, said board President Linda Romano.
Ms. Romano said Dr. Butler, who lives in Martinsville, agreed to take the position Thursday afternoon.
She described the top pick as a “very qualified” candidate who meets the board’s criteria.
The school board is engaged in negotiations with the state Treasury Department to purchase the McCorkle Training School for a new high school, and simultaneously preparing a September building referendum for the high school.
“He has a lot of experience in being interim superintendent and was responsible for getting a new high school on line in the West Windsor-Plainsboro schools,” said Ms. Romano, who was elected to head the board Wednesday.
Dr. Butler, 61, served as interim head of the West Windsor-Plainsboro district from July 1997 to July 1998. Within the past six years he also has served as interim superintendent in the Livingston, Manchester and Branchburg districts.
Dr. Savedoff will leave the district July 1, after more than seven years at the helm, to head the East Brunswick School District. He was appointed by the school board there April 24.
Two days after his appointment in East Brunswick, the Montgomery board met in closed session to interview candidates.
“Originally, we had a list of eight candidates, but we narrowed it down to four,” Ms. Romano said.
A tentative decision was made that night after the interviews, she said, and it was confirmed at the board’s reorganization meeting Wednesday night.
“It was a unanimous decision,” she said. “I think we had all the information we needed.”
While the school board was hoping to have the interim in place before Dr. Savedoff’s departure, Ms. Romano said, Dr. Butler cannot start until Aug. 1. Nevertheless, he will be in touch with the district, she said.
“He’s very reachable,” she said.
The next step for the school board is to begin the process of finding a permanent superintendent before the end of the year, Ms. Romano said.
First, the board will hire a professional search consultant. Ms. Romano said the board’s Negotiations Committee will begin interviewing search consultants this month.
“We’ve asked them to make a recommendation by the end of June,” she said, adding that the committee is made up of board members Susan Edwards, Bill Hyncik and Reginald Luke.
She said she expects the community and teachers to be included in the search process.
Dr. Butler, who has a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Rutgers University and a master’s degree from Seton Hall University, has 38 years of experience as an educator, according to his resume.
He served as permanent superintendent in the Chester Township school district in Morris County from 1980 to 1994, and as superintendent in the Haworth district in Bergen County from 1978 to 1980. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.