By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
Representative compares nine-month search process to having a baby
It could take months, but New Jersey School Boards Association representative Gwen Thorton says the task of finding a new superintendent for Manville schools shouldn’t be a torturous process.
”I liken it to having a baby, because it takes about as long, but isn’t nearly as painful,” Ms. Thorton said. “Our goal is to find the match for this district.”
Ms. Thorton met with the board at its Tuesday meeting, to discuss the superintendent search process.
Board members will vote on whether to retain the services of the NJSBA for the search at next week’s meeting. The board worked with the NJSBA in the search that lead to hiring Donald Burkhardt in 2004, paying $5,000 for the group’s services.
The board did not establish any criteria for its search at the Tuesday meeting, but will meet with Ms. Thorton again to work on the criteria further, said Richard Reilly, the business administrator and board secretary.
”They met last night and they will be meeting again,” Mr. Reilly said Wednesday. “Specific criteria will be made by each board member and will be sent into school boards (association).”
Mr. Reilly said that each board member will complete a survey from the NJSBA on the qualities the superintendent should possess. The forms will be submitted to the association, and assembled into a packet detailing the board’s wishes. The NJSBA will contact the board about another meeting to establish a board consensus on the qualities.
Current Superintendent Donald Burkhardt announced he would retire at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. His current base salary for 2008 is $166,767.
Enlisting the NJSBA’s help for a superintendent search is fairly routine, representatives from the organization said.
”We do over half the super searches for the state,” NJSBA representative Mike Yaple said. “The school board doesn’t run the schools, it sets the goals and agendas. The superintendent runs the schools on a day-to-day basis.”
Typically, a representative from the NJSBA meets with a board to discuss criteria the board would want for the superintendent Mr. Yaple said. The NJSBA will also hold focus groups with the community and the teachers meetings that are usually held without the school board to get additional input.
The selection process can take between four and six months, Mr. Yaple said, though some searches can take longer.
Mr. Yaple said the NJSBA also helps boards advertise the open positions, reviews applications, offers interview training for boards, and assists in the interview process. Since the NJSBA acts as a consultant, Mr. Yaple said the association does not know how many superintendents have expiring contracts, and attempts to maintain potential candidates’ anonymity during the process.
However, the final stages of the process, which involve the board visiting the potential superintendent’s current district, and the candidate visiting Manville, can reveal the candidate’s identity to faculty and staff.
According to Mr. Yaple, 37 districts have superintendent vacancies, though he said the NJSBA may have missed a few since school districts are not required to report vacancies to the NJSBA. Since the number of vacancies can change from month to month, the NJSBA calculates superintendent turnover rates by calculating the number of superintendents that leave during an entire school year.

