The Bordentown Regional Board of Education will interview the five remaining candidates in two upcoming executive sessions with the hopes of whittling down the field to two finalists.
by James McEvoy, Managing Editor
BORDENTOWN — Interim superintendent Joseph Miller said the district is “right on target” with naming his successor, which he said will happen hopefully by the end of the month.
A superintendent search committee recently discussed 15 candidates who returned completed application packets and narrowed the list down to five semi-finalists.
The Bordentown Regional Board of Education will interview the five remaining candidates in two executive sessions – on April 14 and April 16 – with the hopes of whittling down the field to two finalists.
Mr. Miller said he hopes the interviews will facilitate the naming of a new superintendent “before the month of April is over.”
”It will give that person 60 days to resign his or her current position,” he said, noting the 60 day clause, which is common in such contracts, would enable the person to start July 1 and work with him to transition into the district.
School officials previously announced the intention to have a successor in place by July 1. Mr. Miller will remain interim superintendent until June 30.
Mayor Joseph Malone, a member on the search committee, called it “an extremely good process.”
”The residents and the district were well served by the communication and the work done by the committee last night,” Mayor Malone said, referring to a April 1 meeting of the committee.
Mr. Miller began his tenure as interim superintendent on Jan. 28 after Constance Bauer announced her retirement after serving as superintendent for the district for five years.
One of the reasons the board chose Mr. Miller, school officials said previously, was due to his experience in helping districts find permanent superintendents while also serving as interim in the past.
Mr. Miller, 66, served as superintendent of Delanco schools for 21 years. He has also served as interim in six different districts in Burlington County, including Springfield Township. In two of his previous fill-ins, he also provided assistance in the search for a permanent superintendent.
He has 45 years of experience in education, he said, and for two years he was president of an American international school in Brazil.
In addition, the previously scheduled April 23 board meeting has been cancelled. The board will hold a public budget hearing on April 30 at 7 p.m. in the Bordentown Regional High School.

