PRINCETON: Search begins for new schools leader

Judith Wilson resigns superintendent’s post

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   Princeton Superintendent of Schools Judith A. Wilson, facing a pay cut of more than $50,000 if she stays beyond her current contract, will retire from the district at the end of December.
   Ms. Wilson, speaking after Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, said she made up her mind to leave about four or five weeks ago. Although not sure yet what she’ll do after Princeton, Ms. Wilson said she plans to work hard during her nine remaining months here.
   As part of her contract, Ms. Wilson only needed to give the district four months’ notice that she was leaving. She felt, however, that it “takes much longer than that for a smooth transition.
   ”And I really owe it to this board and community for them to have every opportunity for a really full search and a smooth transition, so that was my priority,” she said.
   Asked when she was at peace with her decision, she replied: “I’m not yet. I know it’s the right thing, but it’s with a lot of angst.”
   Ms. Wilson will leave with six months to go on her contract, due to expire at the end of June 2014. If she wanted to remain past that time, her salary would have been reduced based on state-mandated caps on superintendent salaries that are tied to the enrollment of their respective districts. Those caps took effect in 2011, although Ms. Wilson was not affected right away since she was in the midst of a contract that pays her a salary in excess of a $220,000 a year.
   This school year, Ms. Wilson is due to earn $224,890 in salary. But starting in July 2014, the most her salary could have been is $165,000 as the superintendent of a roughly3,500-student district. She could get an additional $2,500 stipend because the district has a high school.
   The salary caps have been criticized because they have led to experienced superintendents leaving the state for higher paying jobs elsewhere, such as New York. In her formal retirement letter, Ms. Wilson referenced “new legislation” that “governs superintendent contracts.”
   Ms. Wilson provided that March 20 letter to the Board of Education, although school officials, knowing about a month ago that she would be leaving, began interviewing search firms last week to find her replacement.
   The school board on Thursday hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates for $18,500 to conduct a national search. Officials said their goal is to name someone in late September or early October so Ms. Wilson’s successor can start Jan.1.
   ”I think it’s a realistic time frame,” said school board Vice President Andrea Spalla. Also on the three-person superintendent search committee are board President Timothy Quinn and board member Molly Chrein.
   Mr. Quinn said Thursday that the firm would meet with the full school board in closed session April 10. He said that in the initial rounds, the search would be confidential, because “it’s likely that we’ll be hiring someone who’s already employed.”
   Mr. Quinn said the salary cap would be a factor in searching for replacements. He said, however, that the search firms that officials interviewed all agreed that Princeton is in a “great position to attract highly qualified candidates because we’re an excellent district that’s had stable leadership for a long time and that has a board that works well and focuses on students, not politics.”
   Ms. Wilson’s retirement did not catch officials by surprise.
   ”We knew it was coming, but it was all about the timing and it was all about giving Judy as much time as she needed to make her decision,” Mr. Quinn said.
   Ms. Wilson has been in education for 35 years, first as an English teacher before later rising through the ranks of administration. Prior to Princeton, she was the superintendent of the Woodbury school district in Gloucester County. Her pension will be $143, 733, based on a calculation done by the state Division of Pensions and Benefits.
   ”Our estimate is based on projecting out her current rate of pay through the end of the year. The final figure will depend on the final numbers she files in her retirement application,” said Bill Quinn, a spokesman for the state Department of Treasury, in an email Monday.
   Ms. Wilson has led the district since 2005. She leads a high-performing school district that will have an $84.24 million budget.
   ”I wish Judy the best in her retirement. It’s certainly well deserved,” said Joanne Ryan, president of the 360-member Princeton Regional Education Association. “We’ve worked through some very difficult times and were always able to come up solutions that were fair to both sides.”
   ”I have to decide what my next phase of career is,” said Ms. Wilson, now having to make a job change as she nears 60. “Well, because I think I’ve always known my next step, and now I don’t, and that’s a strange position for me to be in.”