County Still Without Permanent Schools Superintendent

Ocean County has not had a permanent Executive County Superintendent of Schools since , and it does not appear as if the role will be filled in the immediate future.

Former county Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bruce Greenfield was one of seven county superintendents in New Jersey whose contracts were not renewed by Governor Chris Christie in January. Christie press secretary Michael Drewniak previously told reportersthe former supers were "holdovers from the prior administration.”

In New Jersey, county school superintendents are politically appointed. The governor’s office, however, has yet to move to replace Greenfield.

Allison Kobus with the State Department of Education indicated the department was not aware of any pending appointments by the Governor’s office. “I don’t have a status update,” she told a Patch reporter. An official with the county Department of Education said the same.

A county superintendent’s role includes reviewing district budgets and monitoring conditions in county schools.

Greenfield spent three years as executive county superintendent of schools (2008-2010) and over five years as county superintendent of schools (2002-2008), overseeing 28 school districts and initiating a study on the feasibility of consolidating some of those districts. He was successful in merging the Mantoloking school district with the Point Pleasant Beach school district.

Since Greenfield’s departure, the post has been filled by acting superintendent Thomas J. Dowd, who is also Atlantic County’s Executive County Superintendent of Schools.

Dowd is not the only county superintendent in the state doing double duty. In fact, under the Christie administration there are a string of such double-duty top execs throughout New Jersey.

Passaic County’s Executive County Superintendent of Schools Robert Gilmartin is currently performing those duties in Bergen County as well. Both Union and Monmouth counties are led by Joseph Passiment. Camden County School Administrator Peggy Nicolosi is in the same role in Burlington County, while Dr. Richard Stepura temporarily serves as Executive Superintendent in both Cumberland and Cape May counties.

In addition, Dr. Samuel Stewart is the head of the county schools department in both Mercer and Middlesex counties, and Robert Bumpus is serving as county schools administrator in Gloucester and Salem counties. Finally, Dr. Rosalie S. Lamonte is the top official in Sussex and Warren counties.