By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
The Board of Education appointed Jorden Schiff as superintendent of the Hillsborough School District in a unanimous vote Monday.
Currently superintendent of the Readington Township School District, Dr. Schiff expects to join the Hillsborough district Jan. 10 under a three-year $177,500 contract. The contract will end June 30, 2014.
”It’s a high-quality kindergarten through 12th-grade school district that has a lot of similarities with Readington, and it’s close to home,” Dr. Schiff said.
”I would like to express my appreciation for how welcoming the staff were during my visit on Monday of last week,” he added. “It gave me a sense of what your priorities are, and they seem to match well with what my priorities are.”
Dr. Schiff is known for being student centered, hard working, innovative and inclusive in his current district, and has improved student achievement on standardized tests during his time there. His budgeting practices were noted by the Hillsborough district as well.
The Readington Township School District is a pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade district with over 2,000 students, 300 staff members and a budget of $30 million. Hillsborough serves approximately 7,500 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, with a budget of about $107 million.
The board’s Personnel Committee conducted a five-month-long search to fill the position, which former Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer vacated in June. Dr. Forsthoffer’s starting salary was $158,000 when he was hired in 2007. He received $172,818 annually when he left the district this year.
The search generated applications from across the country, and the district created an online survey to gather input from the community. The survey provided interview questions and leadership qualities for the candidate interviews. The district received applications throughout the summer, and selected candidates for a final round of interviews in August.
The board did not use an outside consulting firm during the search, which board President Steven Paget said saved the district money.
”I did a search today on how much it costs to have an outside firm conduct a search,” Mr. Paget said. “They ranged from $6,000 to $20,000 to do this effort. I think our board did a great job.
”I am very pleased that Dr. Schiff has agreed to lead the Hillsborough School District as it continues the demanding work of increasing student achievement,” he added. “The board conducted an extensive search, and I feel confident in our choice.”
Dr. Schiff has a 20-year history in New Jersey schools, and has worked as a teacher, supervisor, vice principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. Prior to working in Readington, he served as an assistant superintendent for curriculum and personnel in Howell Township, coordinator of elementary education and principal in Westfield, principal in High Bridge schools, and as an assistant principal, supervisor and affirmative action officer in North Brunswick schools. He taught and served as a teacher trainer in Bridgewater-Raritan Regional schools and as a special education teacher in the Somerset Hills School in Warren.
Dr. Schiff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, a Master of Education degree in elementary education, and a Doctor of Education degree in administration and supervision, all from Rutgers University.
Though he will not join the district until January, Dr. Schiff said he would be available to board members over the coming months for any issues that may arise including questions on the 2011-2012 school budget. In addition, schools will be working under a 2 percent budget cap, down from the 4 percent cap of prior years.
”The most important goal is to educate the children, and to provide an environment that is supportive of that, and sensitive to the needs of the community,” Dr. Schiff said. “We must balance fiscal responsibilities with the needs of our students.”
When presenting his budgets in Readington, Dr. Schiff said he met with district parents at their houses, gave presentations to senior citizens groups, the town’s Italian American club and the town’s Rotary Club, and published budget summaries on the school website and on the local television channel.
His first actions when joining the district will be observation, however.
”My first goal is to be a student of this district and see what really makes it tick,” he said. “You truly need to understand the complexities of a district before making changes. Only after I have a reasonable amount of time to study, will I work with the administrative team to change any goals.”

