Middletown BOE Interviewing Superintendent Candidates This Week

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown Board of Education spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week conducting interviews for a new superintendent, who will take the helm of the district this fall.

The candidate interviews are being done in private. The next public BOE meeting is next Tuesday, July 14, but it appears the hiring of a new superintendent will not be voted on at that time.

"We’ve only just begun the interview process. It is highly unlikely that we will be ready to hire someone by July 14," said Board president Pamela Rogers.

That 7 p.m. meeting will be open to the public and will be conducted virtually using Zoom. The link will be available on the Middletown school district website or you can email questions and comments to boardmeeting@middletownk12.org.

Middletown schools superintendent Dr. Bill George will be leaving the district at the end of the summer; he was hired as a higher education professor at Monmouth University.

A lifelong Monmouth County resident, George has worked as the Middletown school superintendent for the past nine years. He left the district before his contract was due to expire at the end of the 2022 school year.

For the 2017-2018 school year, he made an annual base salary of about $200,500 per year, which went up two percent every year through the remainder of his contract. He was also subject to performance bonuses, according to the terms of his contract, which is publicly available.

It is not yet known how much his replacement will be paid, or how many candidates the BOE is interviewing.

During George's tenure at Middletown schools, the district saw a decrease in student enrollment, followed by a subsequent severe drop in state aid. The reduction in state aid has left a budget hole the Middletown school district is still grappling with. Under George's direction, the district also closed Port Monmouth Elementary, a decision that was not met well by the community.

Related: Tears And Anger: Middletown BOE Votes To Close Port Monmouth (March 12, 2020)

Middletown schools asked parents for their input on qualities and background the next superintendent should have, and here are the survey results: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cmRwxS-JAdzjEsv3IlgAjvTs1UJurgG4bgNHg7xNQa0/edit#slide=id.g8a28023662_0_11