The East Brunswick Board of Education has appointed a new superintendent to head the K-12 school district.
Victor P. Valeski replaces Patrick Piegari, who has been interim superintendent since July 1. Piegari had been filling in since the retirement of longtime district superintendent Jo Ann Magistro.
“I understand that I’m coming in succeeding very strong leadership in East Brunswick, so I want to assess what’s been done,” he said. “I’m not coming in as the change agent; I want to build on what’s already in place.”
Valeski will lead New Jersey’s 28th largest school district, with 10,454 students and staff in eight elementary schools, a middle school, a junior high school and a high school.
He will earn $177,500 annually, according to district Business Administrator Bernie Giuliana, the maximum allowed by state statute. In the second year of his contract, Valeski will be eligible for up to six bonuses — three qualitative and three quantitative merit-based bonuses — that will be negotiated with the board and must be approved by the executive county superintendent.
Valeski, who had been superintendent of the Swedesboro-Woolwich School District in Gloucester County since 2010, acknowledged that he will have to embrace unprecedented state mandates — like PARCC standardized assessments — in the coming years.
“I want to stay connected with those initiatives because they impact teachers and school boards. They’re being rolled out in very short periods of time, so we need to be prepared,” he said.
In order to assimilate to a new school district, Valeski said he plans to make himself available to students and staff.
“I like to get out and talk to people and have face-to-face conversations, so I’m excited to get in front of all the stakeholders in the district — that includes parents, teachers, students, employees, elected officials and even community members who don’t have students in our schools — to get a sense of their expectations and develop a plan to address them,” he said.
Valeski added that he plans to maintain a positive and constructive environment within the school buildings.
“I’m very passionate about what motivates people, because I know there are things beyond the paycheck that drive people. The job satisfaction, an environment of feeling supported, all of those are important to creating an environment where people want to work,” he said.
Valeski graduated from Black Hills State University in South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1980. He received a master’s degree in business administration from Wilmington University in Delaware in 1987, the same school where he received his doctor of education degree in 2003.
Valeski’s résumé outlines an active career, which includes four years of military service with the U.S. Air Force, and more than a decade of work as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Wilmington University.
Magistro retired in 2013 after a 42-year career with the district. Before becoming superintendent in 2003, she served the district as a guidance counselor, chair of the guidance department, assistant principal at East Brunswick High School, assistant to the superintendent, assistant superintendent of student activities and services, and assistant superintendent of human resources.
Board of Education President Brad Cohen said the board is pleased to bring Valeski to the district after a long search.
“Because of our high standards, the Board of Education sought to find an individual who embodies and understands that our success is no accident. Excellence is the result of hard work, grit, curiosity, optimism, self control and humility, and the model for excellence must start at the top,” Cohen said. “We welcome Dr. Valeski to our community.”