SAYREVILLE – Three staff members in the Sayreville School District have been transferred to new administrative positions for the 2019-20 school year.
On July 16, the Board of Education approved the transfers of Audrey Burns from supervisor of elementary special education to director of early childhood; Laurence Gates from district maintenance worker to district evening buildings, grounds and security supervisor; and April Magistro from a teacher at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School to supervisor of elementary education in the district.
Director of early childhood and evening buildings, grounds and security supervisor are new positions, while Magistro will succeed Amy Stueber as supervisor of elementary education, according to district administrators. Stueber is heading to Truman School as principal.
According to administrators, Burns’s transfer will be effective Aug. 1, pending certification, through June 30, 2020, and she will receive a salary of $124,775 ($123,775 base salary, $1,000 longevity) for 2019-20. Gates’s transfer will be effective July 17 through June 30, 2020, and he will receive a prorated salary of $55,000 for 2019-20. Magistro’s transfer will be effective Sept. 1 through June 30, 2020, and she will receive a prorated salary of $98,775 ($96,275 base salary, $2,500 longevity) for 2019-20.
Gates and Magistro were present at the July 16 meeting and received praise from Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe.
Toward Magistro, Labbe said, “We had a number of very qualified candidates in district who were very impressive, but Ms. Magistro just stood out. She is not only an employee here who has been with us for 21 years, she is a Bomber. She went to Wilson Elementary School, she went to Sayreville Middle School and then she graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School, and she never left us.
“What I find incredible, her mom calls her a decorated teacher because of the fact that she’s won teacher of the year/education specialist three times,” Labbe said. “She’s also been Walmart Teacher of the Year. And recently, she’s been recognized as New Jersey Exemplary Elementary Teacher of the Year. So she is truly incredible. She’s highly proficient in the elementary curriculum, she’s incredibly competent in her skills, as well as her pedagogy. To that effect, she has served as not only a classroom teacher, but she has served as a reading specialist, an academic support instruction interventionist in language arts, as well as mathematics. She’s an incredible teacher and I know that she’s going to be an incredible educational leader as our new supervisor of elementary instruction.”
The superintendent said of Gates, “He too is a Bomber. His family [members] are Bombers. But he’s only been with our district formally for two years. But in the two years that he’s been with our district, he has earned the respect and rapport of all of our buildings and grounds staff and our administration, including myself. He is also very knowledgeable, very competent and he has a high level of professional polish that I think is going to make him incredibly successful in this new position in our evening buildings and grounds, as well as security supervisor.”
Board President Kevin Ciak also spoke highly of Magistro and Gates.
“Congratulations on your new positions,” Ciak said. “You’ve certainly both distinguished yourselves in the district, which has led you to the positions that you’re about to hold and I know that you’re both going to do a phenomenal job. With credentials like what Dr. Labbe just shared, I know you [Magistro] are going to be a passionate advocate for elementary education and have a lot of knowledge and expertise to share. And Larry, I know you as well at the night level will also have that same passion, energy and level of expertise that’s going to help us keep things running smoothly and make the most of everyone that we have here and all of our resources.”