He's Back: Ex-Principal Memoli Returns to Tulsa Trail

A familiar face is back to lead Tulsa Trail Elementary School through turbulent times.

Just not for long.

Joseph Memoli reassumed his post as the second- and third-grade school's principal in July, this time with an interim tag. He took over for his successor, Jeffrey Nesnay, who announced his retirement in February amid the state's squeeze on education and Hopatcong's dwindling enrollment figures.

Memoli, who retired in 2004 after 19 years as a Hopatcong principal, said he'll serve only a year. Then the Board of Education will have to make a decision—hire a full-time principal or close the school.

"They're in a tough spot," Memoli said.

Memoli, 63, re-entered the picture after Tulsa Trail's enrollment dropped from 394 students in 2005-2006 to 323 in 2008-2009, according to New Jersey's Department of Education.

He also joined the fray as Gov. Chris Christie cut $1.7 million in state aid to the Hopatcong school system, forcing layoffs and massive program restructuring.

Hopatcong Schools Business Administrator Theresa Sierchio said Memoli was first on her list of candidates after the board decided an interim principal, who could serve a maximum of two years, was the right choice.

"We knew we wouldn't have to worry about that school if we got Mr. Memoli back in there," she said. "The staff loved him. The parents loved him. He knows what he's doing."

"We wanted to wait and see one more year where enrollment was going because we were at the point where we couldn't close a school this year," she continued. "We would be bursting at the seams. … [And] we didn't think it was fair to go out and bring in a new applicant. What happens if we end up closing the school, virtually ruining somebody's career?"

Memoli, who spent his retirement teaching at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Madison and heading a non-profit organization, jumped at the opportunity.

"The Hopatcong school system was very, very good to me," he said, later adding: "If I can help out during this transition period, it's a privilege to me."

Memoli's first order of business? "I'm going to look at enrollment projections and help the elementary program do what is in the best interest of kids," he said. That includes figuring out how to work around expanding class sizes, he said.

And he'll do it at a reduced rate.

Sierchio said Memoli took a smaller salary than what the board planned to offer him. He also began working in July—for free—when his contract doesn't officially start until Aug. 1.

"He refuses to take a penny from us," Sierchio said. "He absolutely loves Hopatcong and he just feels very badly about what the state has done with us dollar-wise. That's just the type of guy he is."

Memoli, a East Stroudsburg, Pa., resident, began his education career in Sparta before he came to Hopatcong in 1984. He retired in 2004 because "I felt that in 31 years [of teaching], I felt good about what I had accomplished."

Memoli spent two post-retirement years as an adjust supervisor at FDU-Madison, aiding the teaching program. Then he became director of the East Stroudsburg Community Alliance, a non-profit focused on revitalizing downtown East Stroudsburg. He stopped after two years for personal reasons.

Memoli and Seirchio agree closing Tulsa Trail could be disastrous in the long-term. Both said it wouldn't save the Board much money immediately, and that it would be near impossible to reopen the school in today's sluggish economy due to expensive and extensive safety code regulations.

"You have to think long and hard about closing a school before you get there," said Sierchio, who expects the Board to make its final decision on the school's future next year.

Until then, Memoli will lead the way.

"He said, 'I'll be there as long as you need me,'" Sierchio said.