BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
Most Upper Freehold Regional Board of Education members had tears in their eyes as the superintendent announced his resignation last week.
Robert Connelly, who has served as the district’s superintendent for five years, told the board at its Feb. 16 meeting in Allentown that he will step down in September. Connelly will leave to teach in the Graduate School of Education at Seton Hall University in East Orange.
Connelly remembered his superintendent appointment as “probably the best day of my life.”
Connelly said Seton Hall offered him the job last year, but he declined it because of the commitment he had made to the Board of Education. He said he wanted to help the board with the referendum for a new middle school and the land search for the school location.
When the university recently offered him the position again, Connelly said he accepted it. He called the job “a wonderful opportunity for me to mentor future administrators.”
Connelly said the current school board is “a great board” whose members “work well together.”
“They addressed hard issues and made things happen,” Connelly said. “For the five years we worked together, we did some good things for the kids. It’s good to leave at the top of your game.”
Connelly said he was giving six months’ notice so the board would have sufficient time to find a replacement.
“I hope it is the smooth transition this community deserves,” Connelly said.
Board member Patricia Coffey called Connelly’s resignation “a terrible loss for all our communities.”
“The changes [he] brought about were far beyond referendums,” Coffey said.
Coffey said Connelly had the trust and respect of all the school communities and that the board would accept his resignation with regret.
At the Feb. 17 Upper Freehold Township Committee meeting, Deputy Mayor William Miscoski called Connelly “the best superintendent the township had ever had.”
“From day one, Dr. Connelly was honest, straightforward and available,” Miscoski said.
According to Miscoski, previous superintendents did not respond to requests for information from the governing body and would try to hide information.
“Dr. Connelly never hid anything from us and gave us everything we asked for in a timely fashion,” Miscoski said. “I’m very upset he is leaving.
“He has become a very good friend,” Miscoski added. “I’m happy for him, [but] sad for the town.”
Committeeman Stephen Alexander said Connelly had a tremendous amount of honor and integrity and would surely be missed.
“He was great for the town and for our kids,” Alexander said. “He will be hard to replace.”
Allentown High School Principal Christopher Nagy called Connelly “passionate about making a difference in the lives of students,” saying that he is someone with “genuine interest in his staff and administration.”
“He is a gentleman of gentlemen and a coach of coaches,” Nagy said. “I am honored to have worked with and for him these past five years.”
Nagy applauded Connelly’s efforts in expanding the high school, creating partnerships with local and state governmental bodies, and supporting send-receive relationships with Millstone and Plumsted.
“Dr. Connelly is a fair, consistent and effective administrator whose humor endears him to all,” Nagy said. “He is a friend, mentor and dedicated educator. He will be missed, but he has left an indelible mark on the district, and his work will be appreciated for many years to come.
“I wish him good health, happiness and time to enjoy the next stage of his life,” Nagy said.
Elementary and middle school Principal Miriam Peluso said Connelly made a big impact on the district.
“Because of who he is and what he stands for, he was able to quickly forge positive relationships not only with administrators and staff, but also with the community,” Peluso said. “He asked all of us to join him in moving the district forward in the interest of what’s best for kids — Bob’s frequent refrain — and we accomplished many things under his leadership.”
Peluso said she will miss Connelly’s professional insight, personal support and friendship.
“I wish him well in this new phase of his career,” Peluso said.
Board President Jeanette Bressi called Connelly’s retirement “a profound loss for our school district.”
“Those of us with the good fortune to work with Dr. Connelly know he is a man of unquestionable integrity who is passionately committed to academic excellence and the future of all children,” Bressi said. “Generations of children will benefit as a result of Dr. Connelly’s dedication to our district.
“It is difficult to think of building the middle school without him,” Bressi said. “[But] it is even more difficult to think of how we could ever replace him.”