Brick School Board Welcomes New Superintendent

BRICK, NJ — Thomas Farrell knows he's in for a challenge when he takes over as superintendent of the Brick Township School District.

With state funding cuts threatening the future of the district, stirring emotions in the community and the district's staff, it's a difficult time to take the reins of the district. But as far as he is concerned, he's not alone.

"It's not just me," Farrell said Thursday night after the Brick Township Board of Education approved the hiring of the Shore Regional High School District superintendent. "It's all of us together."

Farrell, who has been superintendent at Shore Regional since April 2013 and additionally oversees the West Long Branch School District, is anticipated to start March 2. His initial contract runs for four years, through the 2023-24 school year. Under the contract, he will receive a salary of $197,500 for this school year, though that amount will be prorated, meaning he will earn just the amount that correlates to how many months he is in Brick. His salary in the 2020-2021 school year will be $197,500, and will increase to $202,931 for the 2021-22 school year; to $206,990 for 2022-23 and to $211,130 for 2023-24.

Farrell, whose wife, Linda, is a kindergarten teacher in the district, will not take separate medical benefits but will be covered by hers, Business Administrator James Edwards said. The couple has three children.

He and his family sat in the audience Thursday night, listening to parents and residents ask pointed questions about his hiring, including pressing for answers about what will be done to encourage Farrell to stay on.

The district's previous superintendent, Gerard Dalton, left the position to return to his previous district in June after just one year in Brick.

"I'm an Ocean County guy and I'm home," Farrell said. "I want to be here and I plan on being here."

"I really believe that it's not in-vogue programs or large school budgets that make great school districts, it's people. In particular relationships. Even more specific, teacher-student relationships," he said.

"Young people do not care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Every young person needs that adult advocate. All we can do is create a learning environment that fosters that relationship," he said. Then we'll be successful

"I want to continue to foster that environment where young people thrive, specifically with teachers," he said.

"We all know Brick schools have some challenging times ahead, but there's a lot of talent in this room and in the staffing, in the community," he said. "If everybody works together, we will be successful." You can hear his full speech in the meeting video below; forward it to the 38:30 mark.

The school funding issues are the biggest challenge, but there are other factors that have contributed greatly to the district's significant superintendent turnover. Since 2000, the district has had 11 superintendents; Farrell will be the 12th.

Much of that turmoil long precedes the current school board. Of the current members, president Stephanie Wohlrab and Victoria Pakala are in the fourth year of service. Melita Gagliardi and Daisy Haffner were sworn in to their second terms Thursday night, and the others still are serving their first terms.

Board member turnover has been almost as continuous, an issue Edwards pointed out at the December board meeting. Though school boards are supposed to be non-political, there has been a persistent and disruptive undercurrent of partisan politics on the school board going back to the 1980s and it played a significant role in the issues from 2000 to the current board.

In 2017, Patch detailed the string of superintendents in the district when Dennis Filippone was acting superintendent during the search that led to Dalton's hiring. You can read about the turnover here: Filippone Says He Didn't Aim To Be Brick Superintendent Long-Term.

Filippone, who retired in early 2019, was on hand Thursday night to offer his congratulations to Farrell upon his hiring.

The emotions and frustrations of parents and residents were clear as speakers quizzed the board about Farrell's background, qualifications and willingness to stay through the rocky times ahead.

One parent asked if his contract contained a clause to deter Farrell from leaving early. Another questioned the salary provisions in light of headlines that said he would be paid $1 million for the four-year contract. His salary figures add up to about $885,000, including the prorated amount for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

Farrell told the audience he'd been watching the board meeting videos and was aware of all of the issues. After the meeting, he said he has faced challenging situations in other districts.

"But I'm not alone in this. I truly believe that if we have everyone working together and rowing in the same direction, and no one punching holes in the boat, we can succeed," he said.

"In the end, it's all about the student-teacher relationship," Farrell said. "If all of our decisions are student-centered, we will succeed."

Farrell, a graduate of Monsignor Donovan (now Donovan Catholic) High School, has a bachelor's in economics from Syracuse University. He has a master's degree in business administration from Monmouth University and is completing a doctorate in education leadership at Monmouth in December.

He came to education from the business world — he was executive vice president at Atlantic Lighting in Edison from 1992-1999 — and began teaching business at Donovan in 1994. He was the Griffins' head football coach, and later served as assistant athletic director at the school.

In 2002 he left Donovan for New Egypt High School in the Plumsted School District, where he taught business and coached the football team. He was an assistant principal at the high school from 2005 to 2008, when he became the high school's principal, a position he held until leaving in 2013 for the Shore Regional superintendent's position. During the 2006-2007 school year, he was the Plumsted district's director of technology and communications.

He also was an adjunct professor at Ocean County College from 2004 to 2013.

Farrell and his wife, Linda, who teaches kindergarten at Drum Point Elementary School, live in Toms River and have three children.

Note: This article has been updated to correct that Farrell was the head football coach at Monsignor Donovan, not an assistant.

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