By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
PLUMSTED Schools Superintendent Mark DeMareo, who has led the school district since 2008, has announced that he is retiring at the end of June, capping a 33-year career in education.
The Plumsted Board of Education accepted the superintendent’s resignation letter at its Dec. 22 meeting. Dr. DeMareo told the board he was notifying the school board now, six months before his planned departure, in order to give the district time to prepare for a smooth transition to his successor.
”It has been my good fortune to have served in New Egypt with the very best a hard-working, intelligent, caring team of administrators, teachers and support staff,” Dr. DeMareo wrote in the letter he read to the board.
”The students entrusted to our care value education, are hard working, and respectful of each other and the learning environment,” Dr. DeMareo said. “One could not find better students to teach or families with whom to work and interact.”
Dr. DeMareo, whose contract ran through July 1, 2013, will be retiring effective June 30.
”All in all, the school board had a good working relationship with Dr. DeMareo, but he expressed an interest in retiring,” Board of Education President Harry Miller said Tuesday.
”We discussed with him what would be the best timing for the district so that there would be enough time to do a search for a permanent superintendent and avoid the need to have an interim superintendent,” Mr. Miller said.
The specifics of the search process for the next schools superintendent will be discussed at the Jan. 12 school board meeting, Mr. Miller said.
Dr. DeMareo earned $185,220 in 2010, according to the state Department of Education’s online database of school administrators’ salaries. Under state rules that take effect Feb. 7, all new superintendent contracts will be subject to strict salary caps using a formula based on the number of students in the district. Plumsted’s next superintendent will not be able to earn more than $165,000.
Mr. Miller said Tuesday it’s too early to tell how much the state-mandated caps will affect the superintendent recruitment process in Plumsted.
”I think it probably will be a consideration, but until we go out and do the search I really don’t know how much of a factor it will be,” he said.
The Plumsted district, which serves approximately 1,730 students in grades K-12, hired Dr. DeMareo in the summer of 2008 after being without a permanent leader for more than a year. Prior to taking the top job in Plumsted, Dr. DeMareo served five years as the assistant superintendent of schools in Jackson.
Dr. DeMareo’s three decades in education also includes 12 years as a teacher, five years as an assistant principal, and eight years as principal of Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes and Raritan High School in Hazlet. He was named to the board of trustees of Rider University in 2006.
Prior to Dr. DeMareo’s arrival in Plumsted, the district had been without a permanent top administrator since the 2007 departure of Superintendent Jerry North. The assistant superintendent at that time, Christine Carlson, took over as the interim superintendent for a few months before leaving to take a position in another district. The next interim superintendent was Robert Smith, who held that position until Dr. DeMareo joined the district as the permanent superintendent in 2008.
Toni Ferry, the principal of New Egypt Primary School and the president of the Plumsted Township Administrators Association, praised Dr. DeMareo on Tuesday for his “heartfelt commitment” to the school district.
”It has been a wonderful opportunity for our administrative team to work alongside the leadership of Dr. DeMareo,” Ms. Ferry said, adding that his dedication would be “sadly missed.”
The Plumsted School District serves students in four buildings: the New Egypt Primary School, the Dr. Gerald Woehr Elementary School, New Egypt Middle School and New Egypt High School.

