N.B. board at odds over superintendent search
Effort to nominate NBTHS principal for job tabled until January
Internal strife, replete with public sniping and backbiting, was apparent at Tuesday’s public meeting of the North Brunswick Board of Education at Linwood School.
The board could not mask its political conflict, reflected in the 5-4 split to table a motion to nominate North Brunswick Township High School Principal Dr. Robert Rimmer for the position of superintendent of schools.
The motion to nominate Rimmer, introduced by board member Robert Haws and seconded by Barbara Snepar, was also supported by board President Connie Corbin and Vice President Rita Goldstein.
Board member Dr. Richard Novak countered Haws’ motion with a motion to table the resolution nominating Rimmer, citing the ongoing search for qualified candidates. He was supported by the remaining board members, Frank Petrillo, Craig Rosevear, Kevin Williams and Bob Grimm.
Novak described the action to nominate Rimmer, which came as surprise to the five board members who voted to table it, as "renegade."
"We’re talking about appointing a person to run a $50 million operation, and I want to make sure we have the best candidate," said Rosevear, who supported continuing the search process.
"As far as I’m concerned, the integrity of this whole process has been compromised," he added.
Goldstein accused the board members who favored tabling the motion with hiding behind procedural rules to avoid public discussion.
"You shouldn’t hide behind Robert’s Rules of Order. We sit here to do the best job for the community, not prohibit public discussion behind a set of rules," said Goldstein.
Snepar, who supported Rimmer’s nomination, feels the board has been thorough in its search for a new superintendent, she said.
She said that the board had advertised in educational journals and newspapers and with the state board of education in its five-month search, considering the résumés of more than 20 candidates.
The motion to appoint Rimmer will be acted on at the board’s January meeting, effectively leaving the board little choice but to appoint an interim superintendent when Acting Superintendent Robert Turco retires on Jan. 1.
A regular board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 9.
The board began a search to replace former Superintendent Dr. Alan Elko, after Elko resigned to take another position in June.
While the large audience at Tuesday’s meeting was split in support of the different board factions, nearly everyone who spoke criticized the behavior of board members.
"It’s always the same issue with this board over and over. This board cannot give straight answers to the public," said resident Toni Marino.
"Look at what you are doing. You are excluding the community," she added.
"In 23 years of education experience, I have never seen a board act this way," said one resident, who works in another school district and favors continuing the search process.
"While you are looking for a superintendent, just remember they are looking at you," he added, referring to the candidates.
That sentiment was echoed by Mark Balaban, the head of the North Brunswick Teachers Education Association. The NBTEA recently settled its contract with the board after an intense negotiation process.
Balaban warned the board that its failure to act may cause the district to lose Rimmer to a similar position elsewhere down the line and that many talented teachers in the district who look up to Rimmer may follow.
"There is no educational savior out there waiting to save North Brunswick, except maybe under our very noses," Balaban said in reference to his support, and what he felt was the support of the members of the NBTEA for Dr. Rimmer.
"Until we get our house in order I would implore you to put aside political differences, backbiting and infighting on this one issue," he added.
Although Rimmer has not been excluded as a candidate, the search for additional candidates will continue, with an interim superintendent being appointed until a permanent replacement is found.
Many in the audience and on the board voiced their support for Rimmer as a strong candidate, citing the state of affairs at the high school, which has flourished under Rimmer’s watch, winning a national Blue Ribbon award.