Berkeley Heights Board of Education Initiates Superintendent Search: NJSBA Provides Insight and Timetable

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – The Berkeley Heights Board Education held a special meeting on May 20 to begin the process of finding a new superintendent. The superintendent search will be handled by NJSBA (New Jersey School Boards Association), who discussed what will happen going forward as the process gets underway.

Patricia Rees and Jeanne Cleary from NJSBA began by focusing on criteria and qualifications for the position. They reminded the board that the process from here on is a forward thinking process. “When you determine what the credentials or criteria are that you are seeking for your next superintendent, you want to look at what applies towards the future.” Rees emphasized that after addressing the standard matters such as financials, criteria, and scheduling for the future, all subsequent discussions would need to be kept confidential.

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Rees firmly underscored that it was imperative for the council to maintain strict confidentiality regarding all shared information. She emphasized that c andidates might not have disclosed their job search to their current district, necessitating discretion during reference checks.

Once the board gets to the point where they make a decision on the finalists, those finalists are asked for references. “The finalists provide us with at least one or two references for every board member,” said Rees. “We strongly encourage that you call at least one of those reference checks, and that they will be different. And we generally give that candidate about 48 hours, once you're ready to go to reference checks, for them to contact them.”

Rees confirmed that the only thing required by law is that they have a standard administrator's certificate, or they have a certificate of eligibility. Everything else is not required. Board members can look for their own requirements, such as if they want them to have teaching experience, or at least X amount of years of teaching experience, and so forth.

Rees said that a general ad is better than a more specific ad, to hopefully attract more qualified candidates. “We will classify those that meet all of your preferred requirements and credentials, and we’ll rate them A, B, C, based on [that].”

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The NJSBA representatives proceeded to propose a timeline and potential dates to the board, aiming for a swift yet essential progression through each step. Their goal was to ensure forward momentum in the superintendent hiring process, with the intention of having the new appointee commence duties by January 1, 2025. Alternatively, delaying until July 1, 2025, would be the less favorable option.

To get a new superintendent in place by January 1, the board was told that they need to finalize the desired candidate requirements, and they needed to do it right away, at that meeting, and provide any additional feedback or questions on the requirements to NJSBA within 3-4 days. “We need to get the ad posted by the beginning of July (2024), and then you will be doing your candidate interviews in August (2024).”

The board also needs to confirm, in writing, with the county superintendent that the acting superintendent contract cannot be extended past June 30.

Rees laid out what the timeline would be. “If you want them to start January 1, 2025, then, in New Jersey, most superintendent contracts have a 60-day clause, meaning when they give notice [to their previous district] they have to stay for 60 days. … There are a few [districts] out there that require 90 or 120 days, but the bulk are 60 days.” This entails that the board must officially appoint the selected candidate at a public meeting no later than November 1 and subsequently secure approval for their contract from the county superintendent. As of now, they are seeking a 30-day turnaround period for this process.

Working backwards, that turnaround period takes it back to October 1. “We estimate about two weeks for negotiations between your board attorney and the finalists’ attorney. That brings you to September 16. If you want to do a third round interview, we're now in early September. And then we're back into second round interviews in late August and first round interviews in mid-August. That's why the ad goes out for June 1, for about five to six weeks,” said Rees.

The board was advised to promptly release the advertisement to ensure visibility during June and July, as this period typically attracts a significant number of potential candidates. It was emphasized that candidates are less likely to actively search once the school year commences. However, if the board opts for a start date of July 1, 2025, the timeline would need to be adjusted accordingly.

Board member Sai Akiri asked if they had to finalize the criteria on the checklist that night, at the meeting. Or can they be asking questions, have a discussion and then provide the board’s input back in a soft copy format.

The group debated the ideal timeline for selecting superintendent candidates, with some advocating for a shorter timeframe (Jan 1, 2025) and others preferring a longer timeframe (July 2025).

Board member Jordan Hyman gave his reasons why it should be Jan 1, 2025. “ I do think our clock has been ticking on this since about New Year's Day ish, maybe Christmas…. I think we should move and endeavor to try to get some consensus on at least the attributes here tonight. ...I'm of the mindset that the talent pool is going to open up.” Hyman reminded the board that they selected NJSBA for a lot of reasons, including the fact that a lot of great talent is in this state and surrounding states. “So I’d like to take their advice and try to get this thing done.”

Akiri also asked if the board members would be able to ask the candidates their own questions, in addition to NJSBA’s. The answer was “yes,” in the second round, but all board questions have to be submitted and cleared by NJSBA’s Legal Department first, at least 48 hours in advance.

After each board member gave NJSBA their important candidate qualifications, a vote to make Jan 1, 2025 the target date to have a new superintendent hired and in place. Jan 1 passed by an informal vote of 6-1, with Akiri voting “no.”

Watch for another article about the board meeting, coming soon.

The entire board meeting video can be watched here.

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