All Around Pennsauken

By the Pennsauken Board of Education: Nick Perry, President; Dung Nguyen, Vice President; Armando Diaz; Michael Hurley; Diane Johnson; Allyson Meloni; Leona Moss; Meg Snyder; and Joann Young

The Pennsauken Board of Education is currently gearing up for an extremely important task: the search of a new superintendent to lead the Pennsauken School District.

Choosing a new superintendent is the single most important decision a Board of Education will make. The process of hiring a new superintendent will take many months. For the Pennsauken School District, it began with discussions and brainstorming sessions during board meetings over the summer months. During these meetings, Board members described the qualities that they would like to see in a new superintendent and discussed the progression of the search. Advised by their legal counsel, they also talked about how the community could be involved in the process and still remain in compliance with the laws governing Boards of Education duties. At our September 24, 2015 public business meeting, a proposed timeline for the process was introduced and discussed.

The timeline includes target dates for posting the job, deadline for receipt of applications, review of submitted applications, and interviews. An important part of the process, which is included in our timeline, is the opportunity for community input.

Though the hiring of a superintendent is the sole responsibility of the Board of Education, Pennsauken BOE members believe that all community members have a huge stake in the outcome of this process. Whether or not you have children attending the schools, every resident of Pennsauken Township has ownership of this school district, since a significant portion of our budget is funded by tax dollars and a strong School District benefits everyone. Therefore, we welcome input from community members, as well as staff and students. In order give residents an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the qualities and skills needed to lead our schools, as well as the overall needs of our School District, we have placed a survey on the Pennsauken School District website. One survey question also asks community members to suggest a question that they would ask a prospective candidate.

The Superintendent Search Survey, which will be posted this month, can be found on the school district homepage at www.pennsauken.net. The deadline for this survey is Monday, November 23, 2015. The Board of Education members will collect these responses and utilize them as the process moves forward. We also invite any member of the public to share their opinions about the superintendent search issues during our monthly conference and business meetings. The Board of Education is excited to begin the search process. We look forward to receiving input from community members, as we move forward with this very important responsibility. Choosing the best candidate for superintendent of schools is paramount to ensuring success for our students and pride in the educational programs that Pennsauken offers.