Interim principal selected for R.B. Middle School
By JOHN BURTON
Staff Writer
RED BANK — Personnel issues, which have been vexing the Board of Education of late, were once again the major issue at last week’s meeting.
In recent weeks, the district has seen the departure of the primary school principal as well as the likely candidate for the position of middle school principal.
The need to fill those two positions so close to the start of the new school year became a source of concern and led to criticism for board members by some parents.
Although a new principal, Karen Leoncavalo, has been in place at the primary school since Aug. 1, the recent departure of Dr. Henry Poteat left the district scrambling in the search for both a principal and vice principal at the Upper Elementary and Middle School. At the board’s Aug. 7 meeting, Superintendent J. Michael Rush guaranteed there would be someone on board at the middle school when classes resumed in September — if not on a permanent basis, then certainly on an interim basis.
At its Aug. 21 meeting, the board voted unanimously in favor of hiring Jean B. Cina as an interim principal. She began work the next day.
Cina holds permanent certifications as a principal, vice principal, reading consultant/supervisor, K-6 elementary school teacher and adult basic education teacher.
In July, Cina retired from the Elizabeth school district, where she had served as a principal since 1993. Before becoming a principal, she served as a vice principal in that district for 13 years.
Cina has a total of 32 years of experience, according to Rush, who added, "I do highly recommend her."
The superintendent said he interviewed three candidates for the position and selected Cina because he was impressed with her enthusiasm.
"She was happy to come in and help," Rush said.
Cina will be paid a per diem rate of $379.66. As an interim, by law she can serve for only six months, after which time, should the district not find a qualified candidate for middle school principal, someone else would have to be named as an interim principal, according to Rush.
But, he added, "I’m sure we’ll have somebody in that time."
If Cina were to serve for the full six months, her salary would be $45,000, consistent with what the position would traditionally pay and what the district could afford, Rush said.
The board and superintendent also planned to convene Tuesday to interview three candidates for the position.
The board and superintendent have also started discussions concerning the creation of a new position, that of assistant to the principal for the primary school.
When Yvonne Marti De Daniels, the previous primary school principal, resigned, she cited the board’s lack of movement on hiring an assistant among her reasons.
Rush had said he supported the creation of the position, especially in light of the district’s plan to move the fourth-grade students from the middle school to the primary school during the renovation project.
At the last meeting, Rush was instructed to establish a job description, requirements and salary scale for the position. He gave that to board members several days before the Aug. 21 meeting, but that did not prevent the discussion of the position from becoming somewhat prickly.
As defined by Rush, the position entails 22 points of responsibility, most of which were not discussed. The duties that were discussed include being on hand as students arrive and depart at the school, monitoring the lunchroom and generally assisting the principal in the operation of the school, as well as having the ability to speak Spanish.
The position would pay between $35,000 and $40,000 a year, according to Rush.
But board member Mary-Ellen Mess expressed some reservations about the job description, the responsibilities and the salary.
"It’s a little too broad," Mess contended. "The discussion of this position has gone from assistant principal to assistant to principal to some sort of aide."
"The job description is very broad, as it should be," Rush responded. "It was meant to be a wide range to allow us some latitude."
Mess said many of the responsibilities defined by Rush could be handled by an aide, a position that pays about $18,000 a year.
"I tell you right now I would be very hesitant to hire someone at $35,000 to $40,000 a year to monitor the arrival of students and to monitor the lunchroom," Mess said.
Mess added that she would like to see a somewhat more detailed job description.
"I guess I would like some clarification," she said.
"We do need to look at this job description on the whole in more detail," added Board President Rosemarie Kopka.
"We lost the last building principal because of lack of help," responded Rush.
He expressed some frustration with delaying discussion until the next meeting.
"What we’ve done now is lose another two weeks," he said.
The superintendent said he included the information on the position in the packets distributed to board members the previous Friday and that if there were any questions, members could have contacted him sooner.