West Deptford School Board Vote Signals Return for Kitchenman

voted unanimously Monday night to open negotiations with superintendent Kevin Kitchenman on a new contract, signaling a desire to keep Kitchenman in the fold for at least another three years.

The superintendent’s current contract, which pays him $142,100 annually, doesn’t expire until 2013, but the state requires notification a year ahead of time on any moves, meaning if the board didn’t agree to negotiate a new contract, they would have had to vote now to end Kitchenman’s deal at the end of the contract.

“I’m very thankful they did not,” Kitchenman said.

A new contract could be for anywhere between three and five years, school board President Christopher Strano said, and would begin effective July 1, 2013.

Kitchenman and William Thompson, the assistant superintendent and business administrator, are the only two administrators ineligible for tenure. Thompson’s contract is year-to-year, and is currently in the process of being advertised, as it is every year.