from Plumsted
district will start
work on July 1
Freehold Borough taps veteran
educator for superintendent’s job
Philip J. Meara
from Plumsted
district will start
work on July 1
By clare marie celano
Staff Writer
Philip J. Meara
Philip J. Meara will take on the responsibilities of heading up the Freehold Borough school district that Janet Kalafat has supervised for the last 13 years.
Board of Education members announced Meara as the district’s new superintendent of schools and welcomed their new leader at a board meeting on April 28.
Meara will begin work in the borough on July 1.
In a prepared statement, board member Lynne Coulson said, "Mr. Meara comes to us with extensive experience in the public education field, having spent the past 30 years as a teacher, principal, director of curriculum and instruction and assistant superintendent in the Plumsted Township School District."
She said the board conducted an extensive search under the guidance of the New Jersey School Boards Association. Stating that there were many qualified candidates, Coulson said, "Mr. Meara stood above all the others."
She said Meara comes to the district with an extensive list of accomplishments and that his reputation is "flawless."
Coulson said that evidence of this reputation became more apparent when school board members conducted their site visit and reference checks.
"It was not uncommon to hear that Mr. Meara is ‘totally committed to the children,’ or that ‘he works very well with staff and parents,’ two very important aspects on the list of criteria established by our school community," Coulson said. "Likewise, he is known as a self-starter, creative thinker and an all-around nice person."
Meara will move from the K-12 Plumsted district in Ocean County — a district that encompasses three schools [and building a fourth] with 1,600 students — to the borough’s K-8 district that has three schools and more than 1,300 pupils.
His experience includes leaving a 14-year administrative position with the East Windsor School District and returning to a position as a teacher of third grade students.
Why?
In a conversation with Meara, he said that at some point in his career he found himself "missing out" on the perspective of his staff.
"I had been away from the classroom for too long," he told Greater Media Newspapers. "I needed to go back and re-establish relationships with the children. I needed to understand where the teachers were coming from."
Meara said his five-year teaching experience "put everything in focus again" and that he was better able to understand the problems that his staff dealt with on a daily basis.
The veteran educator said what impressed him most about Freehold Borough is that the town appeared to be much like his own hometown of Allentown.
"The town impressed me. I saw a bigger version of Allentown and that really appealed to me," he said. "I was also very impressed with the school board. One thing that they really stressed is the importance of the diversity of their community. There is also a tremendous emphasis on the children and on learning."
He said he felt the school board members expressed their pride in the community and in the board’s accomplishments.
Meara said he’s "super-excited" about coming to the borough school district and that he’s planning to spend his summer learning about the town and getting acquainted with the community. He said he is working on preparing a special summer project for borough children.
Education apparently is a familial trait in the Meara family. His wife, Lynne, is a supervisor of instruction in New Egypt and the president of the Upper Freehold Regional School District Board of Education. Two of their three children are educators. Erin, 27, teaches second grade in Washington Township, and Beth, 25, teaches nursery school in Lawrenceville. Their son, P.J., is a student at York College, York, Pa., studying communications.
The couple also have two grandsons, Collin, 6 and Nolan, 2, sons of Beth and her husband, Mike
Newly elected school board President Pete DeFonzo said the board members are very excited about Meara’s arrival. He said he believed Meara’s interview was a turning point in the selection process.
"His checks and references as well as the site visit went way above and beyond what any of us expected," DeFonzo said.
He remarked that mixed emotions color his excitement because he is saddened by Kalafat’s retirement.
"I am so sorry to see her leave. She is a terrific person and has given us a great base to work from. Mr. Meara will be able to help us grow from the base that she created," he added. "One goes away and it saddens us. Another comes on board and we are excited about that."
Board member Ron Reich, who conducted the site visit, said he was also very excited about Meara’s appointment.
"Although I am deeply saddened by Jan’s retirement, because she has been such a wonderful asset to our district, I am looking forward to Phil’s new ideas. He’s an all-around great person.," Reich said.
The board member said there were two things that he saw repeatedly on the site visit.
"He listens and everything he does is for the kids," Reich said.
Board member Annette Jordan, who conducted the site visit with Reich, said one of the first things they observed is that children come first.
"We were just totally impressed by his district," Jordan said.
She remarked that although she was excited about Meara’s appointment, she was also saddened by Kalafat’s departure.
"She took our district and turned it around and brought us to the level we are at now. Her reputation as an administrator is so well known and respected that at least 20 applicant’s were knocking on our door to get her spot," Jordan said.