Board meets request to hire assistant soccer coach
By John Tredrea, Special Writer
A standing-room-only crowd of parents and student-athletes, all with a single request in mind, turned out Monday night for the newly formed South Hunterdon Regional school board’s last meeting before the opening of school next Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Their request, backed by athletic director Jason Miller, was that the board hire an assistant coach for the high school’s boys varsity soccer team.
"Our coach (Luigi Moriello) has done a great job. We’d like to give him some help," said parent Tony Sabidussi. "There are 24 boys on the soccer varsity now."
Mr. Sabidussi said the team would run more efficiently and safely if there were an assistant coach.
"If a player is injured at an away game and the coach goes to the hospital with him, 23 players would have to ride the bus home alone. That’s not good," he said.
Other parents made similar comments. Athletic director Miller agreed.
"My recommendation, from a teaching and safety standpoint, is to have a second coach," he told the school board. "We’ve had consistent growth in this program over the years."
He and several parents noted that the soccer program started with a co-ed unit in the middle school less than 10 years ago. Now there is a boys’ varsity with 24 players and a girls varsity with 14.
After listening, the board agreed to hire the assistant coach at $4,000 a year.
"We’ll start the search tomorrow," Mr. Miller said after adjournment.
The 2014-15 academic year will be the first for the South Hunterdon Regional district, which was formed after the voters approved the move in a public election last September. The district was formed by merging the Lambertville, West Amwell, Stockton and South Hunterdon Regional High School districts into one pre-K-to-grade-12 district.
Interviewed before Monday night’s meeting, Superintendent Louis Muenker said the district has 963 students, close to last year’s enrollment.
"Our enrollment has been pretty stable for a number of years," he said, noting this will not be the first year the three elementary schools and the high school start classes on the same day.
Discussing staffing changes, Dr. Muenker noted that it has a new director of curriculum and instruction, William Ross, who started work July 1 at $100,000 a year.
Suzanne Ivans, in charge of Stockton Elementary for a number of years, has had her role expanded, he said. "In addition to being the building administrator in Stockton, she’ll be providing technological support throughout the district," he said.
Dr. Muenker added that, in response to the ardent requests of parents a school board meeting several months ago, the school board has decided that the class entering fifth grade at Lambertville Public School this year will remain split into two sections. That issue will be revisited for the 2015-16 year, he said.