Superintendent Shuffle: Is Consolidation the Answer?

And then there was one. At the start of the school year, regional superintendent Anthony di Battista, Mendham Borough superintendent Janie Edmonds, Mendham Township superintendent Kristopher Harrison and Chester superintendent Christina Van Woert were poised to shepherd in another 180 days of educational excellence in their respective districts.

Now, it seems Dr. Van Woert is the only one left standing.

With di Battista and Edmonds retiring, and Kris Harrison’s decision to leave at the end of the year for the Irvington K-12 district in Westchester, NY the fate of the districts moving forward is in flux.

Finding a quality replacement is a charge that regional school board takes seriously. “The superintendent is the educational leader. He or she sets the standard, sets the direction,” said regional board President Cristen Forrester said. “Its really a critically important piece as the superintendent is responsible for all the hiring, for the budgeting, for the structure to support your students.”

Replacing di Battista appears to be particularly challenging, due to his years of service. “You are talking about replacing someone who has been part of this system for decades,” said Dr. David Leigh, the District Anti-Bullying Coordinator. “Finding someone who knows the system and who knows the culture can be difficult.”

With the clock ticking fast to find di Battista’s replacement, the thought of an interim super doesn’t appeal to Leigh. “I only think you go that route if you feel you can get better candidates by waiting,” Leigh said. “But with things the way they are now, I don’t think you get better candidates by waiting.”

With the new budgetary cap driving many out of state and proposed legislation designed to alter their authority, the job of finding a qualified candidate becomes that much tougher. “State wide you see building principals can and will make more than a superintendent,” Forrester said. “Without that added responsibility.”

It seems clear to Forrester that the state is leaning toward further consolidation. “Clearly it seems like that is where we’re going. The legislature is steering away from district supers and granting hiring authority to principals which might be designed to set up a county superintendent system,” Forrester said. “But what about the high performing districts? If there is a county wide curriculum would they have to step back?”

For now, Forrester and her board are focused on finding a replacement for di Battista. “We are in the enviable position of having strong candidates,” Forrester said.

With both Mendham school districts rudderless at the end of the school year, it would seem much easier to find one excellent candidate amongst them rather than two. And that is something being considered. “We have had discussions with the borough about consolidation of services and sharing a superintendent,” said Mendham Township Board of Education President George Davie. “Up until now we’ve always left it to the borough to make the overtures. But it would seem that if there was any time to make a move like this, now would be the time.”

While the idea may look good at first blush, Davie warned it isn’t as simple as one might assume. “If you have one superintendent overseeing all of these schools you are essentially having them beholden to two boards which would be very difficult,” Davie said. “So then you are talking about consolidating the boards. And once you start going down that road you then are talking about why you are bussing one student all the way down the mountain when they can go to Hilltop.”

That is not to say all of those things aren’t being explored. “We are having preliminary conversations at the executive level,” Davie said. “And I would characterize them as ongoing.”    

For her part, Chester Superintendent Dr. Van Woert thinks each district will do things their way, in the absence of another plan. “Each district will do whatever their BOE determines is right for their particular situation,” Van Woert said. “The State Department of Education is certainly trying to encourage more shared services across the state, but the decision remains up to each local Board of Education.”

For now the decisions all still rest with individual districts boards. “Our product is our students and at the end of the day this is how we form and shape our product,” Forrester said. “Its really a critical role. Selecting a superintendent is the most important job a board can do.”