Schools chief search may end next month
Panel to rule on board member’s
participation
The search for a new North Brunswick schools superintendent remains shrouded in secrecy, with little new information available to the public.
The Board of Education met in a closed session on Tuesday to discuss how the search should proceed.
According to President Connie Corbin, the board formed a subcommittee to supervise the search. In addition to Corbin, that committee includes board members Kevin Williams, Richard Novak and Robert Hawes.
"The committee will look at the candidates in an informal setting and bring the findings back to the full board," Corbin said Tuesday after the meeting.
"We hope to bring a candidate to the public by the end of the year," she said.
Acting Superintendent Robert Turco is set to retire on Jan. 1.
The board was looking at several candidates including Dr. Robert Rimmer, principal of North Brunswick Township High School, Corbin said, but she declined to provide an exact number. She did confirm that the search is still ongoing and that the number of candidates is not final. She also declined to identify any of the other candidates.
Tuesday’s closed session came on the heels of last week’s public board meeting at which board members were criticized by the public for political backbiting, secrecy and internal bickering that has characterized the board in recent months.
In September, the board was unable to come to a consensus on the appointment of a new board member to fill the vacancy left when sitting member Betty Schneider moved out of the district. The 4-4 split passed the decision to the Middlesex County superintendent of schools, who appointed former board member Bob Grimm to the remainder of the term, which expires in April.
Last week, a political rift in the board again became apparent when it voted 5-4 to table a motion made to nominate Rimmer for the superintendent’s post.
The motion to nominate Rimmer, which took the five members who voted to table it by surprise, was supported by Corbin, Vice President Rita Goldstein, and board members Barbara Snepar and Robert Hawes.
Board members in favor of continuing the search included Novak, Williams, Grimm, Frank Petrillo and Craig Rosevear.
At last week’s meeting, the board disclosed that it has sought a decision from the New Jersey School Board Ethics Commission on whether it is improper for Rosevear, whose wife, Dr. Carol Rosevear, is principal at Judd Elementary School, to participate in the superintendent search.
This disclosure came after JoAnn Orbin, a township resident, indicated her intention to file a complaint with the School Board Ethics Commission. Orbin said she filed the complaint on Nov. 15, the day after the meeting.
"I feel it is improper for Rosevear to participate in the search for the superintendent since that person will be the direct supervisor of his wife and have a direct impact on her career," Orbin said in a telephone interview on Monday.
"You can’t help but be grateful to the people that hire you," said Orbin. She added that she felt Rosevear should recuse himself from the search to avoid the "appearance of impropriety."
Rosevear did not return a call to his home for comment.
The Ethics Commission is expected to return a decision on Rosevear’s participation in the search on Tuesday, Nov. 28.