The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education will hold a public hearing and take action on the superintendent of schools’ contract this month.
The terms of Superintendent of Schools Rocco Tomazic’s contract will be discussed at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Park Avenue Complex. Members of the public will be permitted to comment on Tomazic’s contract.
“The public hearing and notice is a requirement of (state law) any time a board of education takes action on a superintendent’s contract other than an initial contract or one that is replacing an expired contract,” Business Administrator Joseph Howe said.
Tomazic’s current contract runs from April 4, 2013, to June 30, 2017, and the board intends to offer a new contract to the superintendent for the period Jan. 1, 2016, to June 30, 2020, according to Howe.
Most of the terms and conditions of employment of school superintendents in New Jersey, such as salary caps, are promulgated by law, Howe said. “One such provision of the law is that no superintendent shall acquire tenure, so boards of education must continue to offer contracts of employment to superintendents on a periodic basis,” he said.
Tomazic’s salary of $155,000 annually under the current contract will remain the same under the new contract, according to Howe. For the 2014-15 school year, Tomazic received bonus pay of $7,750 for achievement of two qualitative merit goals.
“The quantitative merit goals are pending release of test scores,” Howe said.
Board President Michael Lichardi said the board “acknowledges this discussion (about Tomazic’s contract) may seem a bit early, but we all agree it is essential to begin discussion on this matter at this point in time.”
“Dr. Tomazic has proven beyond question that he is a strong and prolific superintendent who has been integral to the successful operation of this district through very trying times,” Lichardi said.