Irvington Appoints Roelle As Interim Superintendent

In a special Board of Education meeting in the district office this morning, Irvington trustees appointed Robert J. Roelle, Ed. D., as interim superintendent of the Irvington Union Free School District.

Roelle—whose appointment is effective Aug. 16, 2011—replaces Dr. Kathleen Matusiak, who retires at the end of the month.

Roelle has more than 40 years of experience working in public education starting as a social studies teacher, then as a program supervisor, an Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services, and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and, most recently, as a Superintendent of Schools.

For the past four years, Roelle has been the superintendent of the Katonah-Lewisboro School District in South Salem, New York. Prior to that, he served as the Superintendent of Schools in Ossining, New York, for 15 years.

According to Irvington School Board Vice President Robyne Camp, Roelle will receive a compensation of $222,083 for the year. His health benefits are paid for by the Ossining School District. And Irvington will not pay into the New York State pension system for Roelle, who said he already receives a state pension of approximately $130,000.

After about five months of retirement, Roelle was approached by Irvington's school board asking if he would be interested in serving as their interim district leader.

"I have always loved my work as a superintendent," Roelle said. "And as an interim administrator, I have a clear vision of when that time will end. I look forward to renewing my energy and serving the community and the children here in Irvington."

He'll have his work cut out for him.

In both Ossining and Katonah-Lewisboro, Roelle worked either with a deputy or assistant superintendent for curriculum beneath him to help coordinate curriculum development and instruction. This year, as New York State law requires schools to comply with new rules governing teacher evaluations and common curricula, Roelle calls his task in Irvington "a challenge."

"Without an assistant for curriculum, we will need to look at our administrative resources to get the job done," Roelle said. "I wouldn't call it intimidating, but it's certainly a challenge."

Asked why he left his post in South Salem earlier than when his contract expired, Roelle clarified that the contract had always included a clause stipulating that he could leave at any point as long as he gave the board six months notice.

"I gave them six months and then agreed to stay on for one additional month," Roelle said. "I decided to leave because Katonah-Lewisboro was in the process of developing a long-term plan for the district, and I couldn't make a long-term commitment."

The first 12 years of Roelle’s career were spent in Illinois working in public education. He was then hired by the Bay Shore, Long Island school district where he worked as the Assistant Superintendent, first, for pupil services, then for instruction.

Roelle, who grew up in Illinois, is a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he also got an M.A. in Educational Administration. He earned his Doctorate of Education in leadership and policy studies from Loyola University.

According to Camp, the board met with three candidates for the interim position and chose Roelle because of his experience and his character. 

Dr. Roelle will begin work on Tuesday, August 16 in the Irvington school district office (located next to Dows Lane Elementary)—where he said he will be available to speak with members of the community.

Editor's note: Dr. Robert Roelle's name is pronounced 'Ro-lley' like the city, Raleigh in North Carolina.