By Stephanie Prokop, Staff Writer
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — Bordentown Regional Board of Education expressed frustration with Superintendent Albert Monillas’ resignation, effective Jan. 2, at last week’s board meeting, asking him if he had acted in good faith when he signed the Bordentown contract.
Dr. Monillas said that at the time he accepted the superintendent job in Bordentown, he had no other negotiations pending with any other school districts.
The board also discussed the possibility of adding stipulations in the next superintendent’s contract that would prevent him or her from leaving the district before a certain amount of time had elapsed.
School board attorney Stephen Mushinski advised the board not to include a drastic stipulation in the next superintendent contract because the board could experience difficulty in hiring a candidate from the “very small pool of qualified applicants.”
Dr. Monillas gave his official letter of resignation at the Oct. 17 school board meeting less than two months after assuming the superintendent’s position at the beginning of the school year.
The board’s chief concerns are the time and lengthy process it takes to hire a superintendent.
Board member Heather Cheesman said she felt as though Dr. Monillas did not enter into his contract in “good faith,” meaning that he was in negotiations with Bordentown Regional when he was also applying to other districts.
The superintendent’s current salary is $143,000, and he will be leaving to take the place of Gary Bennett as the superintendent for the Camden County Vocational School District.
Dr. Monillas took the place of former Superintendent John Polomano at the beginning of the school year. He had previously been the assistant commissioner of the state Department of Education.
The contract that Dr. Monillas had signed gave a 60-day notice stipulation, which afforded him 60 days to give notice and leave within that time.
Mr. Mushinski said one of the priorities of the school board should be with making a smooth transition from now until Jan. 2, which is Dr. Monillas’ official last day.
Dr. Monillas interjected that the board didn’t need to worry about him not complying to all of the suggestions, and that he would remain in Bordentown for the rest of his months here.
Joanne Dansbury said she worried whether the overall tone of the work environment was being brought down by the sudden resignation.
Business Administrator Peggy Ianoale noted that reporting on the mood of the central office was “extremely difficult,” but did say that the superintendent’s decision has created tension among office employees.
Mr. Mushinski said that he wouldn’t recommend taking any action against the superintendent, and that there had to be a reason to do so, rather than just acting on an innuendo or rumor.
The concern soon turned to how the community would respond to the superintendent leaving.
Because of the open forum of the discussion, he advised getting the word out that the district is intent to move forward and is searching for an interim superintendent.
The attorney said that the sooner they get started on finding a replacement for Dr. Monillas the better, and estimated that it may take until July 2008 for them to find a suitable candidate.
When given a chance to respond, Dr. Monillas insisted that when he was interviewing for the position he had “no other negotiations pending,” with other districts, and that he was intent on “making Bordentown his home.”

