After a decade at the helm of the school district, Dr. Gary McCartney is ready to ride off into the sunset.
By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
After a decade at the helm of the school district, Dr. Gary McCartney is ready to ride off into the sunset.
”All good things must come to an end,” The 66-year-old veteran educator with more than four decades in the field said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’ve told everyone I would not be seeking another (contract).”
Dr. McCartney came to the district in 2004, replacing Sam Stewart as the head of the almost 10,000-student district with an operating budget of $136 million this year.
”I planned to stay for one (five-year contract) term,” he said. “I never anticipated staying 10 years.”
Dr. McCartney said this is his 46th year in education including 36 years in Pennsylvania and his 27th as a superintendent.
Dr. McCartney said he informed the current Board of Education last year that 2014 would likely be his last year in the $204,000 per year job.
”It was not a secret,” he said.
Although Dr. McCartney is leaving soon after neighboring districts like Princeton and West Windsor-Plainsboro saw an exodus of superintendents due, at least in part, to the state’s salary cap on the position, he said the money had nothing to do with his decision to step down.
Both Princeton’s Judith Wilson and West Windsor-Plainsboro’s Dr. Victoria Kniewel left their respective districts earlier this year for other positions in neighboring states.
”I don’t have a plan per-se,” Dr. McCartney said. “But knowing me, I’ll be doing something. I’m ready to do something else.”
Dr. McCartney said he really enjoyed his time in the district and township, praising the board, township government and police department for their cooperation and support.
”This board has been really good,” he said. “It’s about what is best for the kids. They (the board) are always in that ballpark.”
As far as looking ahead, Dr. McCartney said he would not be directly involved in selecting his successor, but would have options regarding the search process to share with the board.
”(Selecting a new superintendent) is not my job,” Dr. McCartney said. “It will become the board’s job.”
He said he is doing some research on search committees that the board may or may not use in the search and that finding a replacement will likely take a great deal of time.
”It is a long process,” he said. “I gave the board a year head start.”
Dr. McCartney said he is proud of his time in the district and hopes that while a level of change is always needed to keep up to date with the best practices in the industry, he hopes his replacement does not make changes just for change sake.
”You can always improve,” he said. “We are a good district looking to get better.”