At its Tuesday, April 24th meeting, the school board may announce its selection for the next superintendent of the WW-P school district amid charges that successor has already been selected. Dr. Robert Loretan, who announced in January that he would retire in August, will be followed by a candidate from within the district.##M:[more]##
School Board president Hemant Marathe said the board could wait until May to make the announcement. Longtime member Stan Katz said contract negotiations could keep the board from announcing its choice on April 24.
The school board, which has the authority to choose the process by which it selects a superintendent, did not make the names of the applicants public. However, the front runner for the position is thought to be a WW-P insider, Victoria Kniewel. Kniewel was hired by Loretan, and all signs point to Kniewel as the choice for the next WW-P superintendent. As the current assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, some say Kniewel has been groomed for the position since being hired by Loretan shortly after he joined the district in 2004.
Brett Boal, who was defeated in a school board election for the second straight year, accused the current school board members of being too secretive about the selection process for the next superintendent. “”This process has been so closed, it engenders concern,”” Boad said. “”I hear concerns that one candidate is being railroaded in.””
Board President Hemant Marathe said the school board made the decision to keep the applicants’ identities confidential at the request of the applicants. He said also that according to state law, a sitting school board can not appoint a superintendent before the board elections.
Marathe, recently elected for a third term, said at the forum: “”A lot of people know who the candidates are. The board made a decision to look for an internal candidate first, and we have sought input from a number of people within the district.”” said Marathe.
At least one board member disagreed with the decision to keep the process confidential. Ellen Walsh, recently re-elected after running unopposed for her school board seat in Plainsboro, said: “”I think we should have had more input from the public. But the board made the decision to do it this way. It’s a very public position and in the past we have had a group of members of the public participate in interviewing the candidates. This time the board interviewed the
candidates. The public wanted input, and the teachers wanted input. I
felt we should have been more public.””
Walsh added that no other members of the board supported this position.
“”Not all of the candidates wanted it to be public that they were applying for the position,”” said Johnson, who was also re-elected to his position on the board. “”If you make all the applicants public, and then you hire one over the others, it could cause the ones who aren’t chosen to leave the district. It would be doing the district a disservice to chase some of its best people away.””
Michael Donnelly, who finished third in the voting, said: “”I can appreciate the concern of candidates wanting it to be confidential to avoid embarrassment if they don’t get the job.””
Said Jay Bryant, who placed fourth in the voting: “”I would urge the board to look for external candidates as well. It is important that we do all we can to find the best person for the job.””
