BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN — Residents gave their input last week on the search for a new superintendent for the Allentown-Upper Freehold Regional School District.
Current Superintendent Robert Connelly has announced plans to leave at the end of the school year. The Board of Education hired Francine Case and Cathy Weber of the New Jersey School Boards Association. Both Case and Weber participated in the search five years ago for a new superintendent.
Case and Weber spent April 5 speaking to faculty and staff about the search process before conducting a special evening meeting for residents.
Case explained the hiring procedure to the nine residents who attended the meeting. She said an ad for the position had already appeared in local papers and would also be placed on various educational associations’ Web sites.
Some applicants have already sent in résumés, Case said. She said applications will be divided into three categories: those who exceed the desired criteria, those who meet it and those who do not meet it. All applications, she said, must be received by April 29 and require a response from the board by May 13.
On May 17, Weber will present the weighted pool of applicants to the Board of Education. According to Case, the board will approve an interview schedule and a list of questions for the interviewees.
By May 23, the board must select four or five candidates for an initial interview. By June 7 or 8, it must conduct the second round of interviews and select a finalist. By June 15, the board will have selected a finalist and will begin contract negotiations. In early July, it will hire and publicly approve the new superintendent. Board members will also introduce the new superintendent to the staff and community.
The new superintendent will begin work on Sept. 1, 60 days after his or her appointment date.
“It’s a tight timeline,” Weber said.
Superintendents can no longer earn tenure in their districts. The board, Case said, will hire the individual with either a minimum three-year or a maximum five-year contract.
When Case asked the audience about the special strengths of the district, replies included a strong sense of community, a professional staff, strong academics and a diverse curriculum. A strong volunteer system and a willingness for teachers to reach out to parents were mentioned as well. Reno Zinzarella, a retired superintendent of schools, said the district had an “outstanding Board of Education.”
Participants were also asked about the critical issues the district faces in the next few years. District growth and its impact on the school budget were brought up as the No. 1 topic. Others noted that the community was in transition, and that it was more diverse, both racially and economically, than it once was.
A woman in the audience said there is competition from private schools in the area for the best high school students, and she would like a new superintendent to consider what it would take to keep top students in the district.
Zinzarella said the sociometrics of the district were changing.
“The influx of new people has produced a marked change in the community,” he said. “More people will be preparing for college. The educational program will change because of the higher expectations due to sociometrics.”
One woman said the new superintendent would have a huge impact on the district by overseeing the construction of the new middle school.
Case said the new superintendent should have building experience, since the construction of the new middle school is so critical.
Another factor addressed by several residents was that a new superintendent should have a background in education rather than business.
One woman said, “A school is not a business and cannot be run like a business.”
Zinzarella said 30 percent of new superintendents were school business administrators.
A candidate familiar with a send/receive relationship within a school district, like the one the district has with Millstone Township, would also have an advantage, one person said. Long-range planning with Millstone Township was also cited as an important issue.
Residents said they would also like a superintendent who came from a district of a similar or larger size.
When asked what kind of leadership style and personal characteristics the new superintendent should have, those in attendance agreed that a good communicator was essential. They also said they would like someone who would be very involved in the community.
Residents said they wanted someone who does not have his or her own agenda and is willing to listen to everyone. A passion for education was also highly desired.
Joe Stampe, a candidate for the April 19 school board elections, said the new superintendent should not be a micromanager, but a delegator.
Right now, Zinzarella said, the superintendent search is a case of supply and demand, with superintendents holding the upper hand.
About 50 districts in the state have an interim superintendent, while 75 other districts have declared vacancies, according to Zinzarella. One such district is neighboring Plumsted, whose superintendent will retire this year.