City Board Begins Search For School Chief
By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
The search for a new superintendent for the Asbury Park school district is underway, but it isn’t soon enough for Board Member Thomas Pivinski or State Fiscal Monitor Mark Cowell.
At last week’s board meeting Pivinski insisted a committee be formed to address the replacement of suspended Superintendent Antonio Lewis.
“I said I’m not leaving this meeting until a committee is formed,” he explained on Friday. “I was insistent.”
Lewis’ contract will expire June 30, 2009 and the board, said Pivinski, has notified him that his contract will not be renewed.
Currently there are investigations ongoing with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the state Attorney General’s office after documents were seized from Central Administration in February of 2007.
“The superintendent search had to begin now if we are going to have a CSA by next September,” Pivinski said.
The search committee includes Pivinski, and board members Barbara Lesinski and Garrett Giberson.
State Fiscal Monitor Mark Cowell said Wednesday the committee formation should have been done in June.
“I’ve kept after them to do this,” he said.
Cowell said the first step will be to hire an outside consulting firm to conduct the search.
He said the board’s new business administrator is already preparing requests for proposals (RFPs) for the consulting firms.
Cowell said once a firm is hired the process should move along quickly.
“After we have the consulting firm hired, the process will really pick up,” he said.
Cowell said staff and community groups will be included in the hiring of the consulting firm. He said he hopes the process moves quickly because even if the board decided on a new superintendent by December, that person may contractually have to give their current district six months before being released.
“I really would want to have the person in place by July 1,” he said.
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