BOE

Notice of Board Vacancy

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Due to the resignation of a board member, the South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education has a vacancy. The vacancy will be filled by an appointment made by the remaining members of the Board at a public meeting on Monday, February 10, 2020 beginning 7:00 p.m.

The process for filling a vacancy differs from a typical school board election. The person appointed by the Board will become a full member of the Board and serve in that position until the next reorganization meeting in January 2021. That person and anyone in the community will have the opportunity to file a petition to run for election to complete the remaining one year of this seat in the election to be held on November 3, 2020.

In order to be considered for this appointment, any interested party must submit a letter of interest, resume and any other available information indicating their qualifications. This information should be presented in a form that will assist the Board of Education in making an appointment. Please include reasons your selection to the school board would be of value to the district and the students.
These materials can be mailed to the attention of Paul Roth, School Business Administrator / Board Secretary, c/o South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education, 525 Academy Street, Maplewood, New Jersey 07040.

The deadline for receiving materials is 1:00 p.m. February 5, 2020.

Interviews with candidates for the board vacancy will be conducted in public on Monday, February 10, 2020 beginning at 7:00 p.m. All applicants will be provided the opportunity to make a brief five minute statement that elaborates on the letter and resume; reasons for wanting to serve, qualifications, and areas of priority. The board will follow-up with any questions. After all statements and questions are concluded, the board will adjourn to executive session to deliberate. After returning from executive session the board will make nominations to fill the position and then vote to appoint one of the candidates. The candidate with a majority of the members of the Board present will immediately take the oath of office and be seated.

The person selected to fill the vacancy will have to undergo a full criminal background check.
Qualifications:

Each member of any board of education shall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:12-1:

  • Be a United States citizen;
  • Be a resident of the district for at least one year at the time of election or appointment;
  • Be able to read and write;
  • Be a registered voter in the district where the person is submitting the nomination petition (or being appointed);
  • Not be disqualified as a voter pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:4-1;
  • Not have been convicted of any of the crimes or offenses enumerated in N.J.S.A. 18A;12-1 or conspiracy to commit or attempt to commit any of said crimes;
  • Not be the mayor or a member of the governing body of the municipality;
  • Not have a direct or indirect contract with or claim against the board.

Additional information can be obtained from the New Jersey School Boards Association at https://www.njsba.org/about/membership/school-board-candidacy/ or by contacting Board Secretary Paul Roth.

Board of Education Appoints Dr. Ronald Taylor New Superintendent of Schools

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Dr. Ron Taylor - Superintendent of School

It is with tremendous pleasure and excitement that the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education announces the appointment of Dr. Ronald Taylor as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 8, 2019.

Dr. Taylor was selected in a robust search process led by Dr. Bill Librera, our search consultant, from West Hudson Associates, which began in August 2018. The search included community meetings and a survey to craft a leadership profile, selection of candidates to be interviewed in a first round with the Board of Education, second round interviews with three finalists. Dr. Taylor emerged as the leading candidate, and subsequent in-depth interviews (including a conversation with the student representative to the Board), background and reference checks, and a site visit by two of the three Board officers confirmed the Board’s conviction that Dr. Taylor is the right educational leader for SOMSD.

Board of Education President Annemarie Maini said: “Dr. Taylor is an exceptional leader with extensive experience, proven results, and outstanding listening and communication skills. Throughout the search process, the Board focused on finding an educational leader who is unwaveringly student-focused and has a track record of results which match our immediate and long-term needs. Dr. Taylor will be an asset to our community as we work to deliver on major initiatives including a $145+MM bond, a complete elementary reconfiguration, and continue to move our district toward deliberate monitoring and oversight using QSAC.”

Dr. Taylor started his career as a kindergarten teacher. He was an assistant principal, as well as an award-winning principal, before moving to a Regional Superintendent role in Newark.  He joined Willingboro as Superintendent eight years ago where his research-based, data-driven approach resulted in bringing academic and operational stability to Willingboro.

Dr. Taylor’s eight years of experience as the Superintendent of Willingboro have provided an excellent foundation for him to lead the work to address SOMSD’s current priorities:

  • Infrastructure: Successfully led the implementation and completion of a $67 Million facilities bond referendum under budget and ahead of schedule.
  • Schools Reconfiguration: Led successful implementation of reconfiguration of elementary schools.
  • Preschool Expansion: Facilitated the creation of two District Early Childhood Development Centers using $4+ Million in competitive grant funding.
  • QSAC Monitoring: Improved Willingboro’s performance by 55% points in Curriculum and Instruction and improved district operational processes.
  • Equity: “ Ron Taylor is serving as a strategist on the NJASA Equity for Students Committee because of his courageous and effective efforts in addressing student equity matters in his School District” according to Dr. Kathleen Taylor (no relation) on behalf of the NJASA Equity for Students Committee. At Willingboro, he successfully implemented student Chromebook “1 to 1” initiative grades 3rd-12th.

More information about his experience in these and other areas is on his attached resume.

We invite the community to join us in welcoming Dr. Taylor to South Orange-Maplewood School District, and look forward to working together to build the infrastructure, systems and educational program which will help all of our students master the skills and knowledge they need to be successful. Dr. Ficarra, the Senior Leaders of Central Office, and the Board of Education are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to our new leadership.

We will be organizing a series of meet and greets between the Superintendent and community members to begin to build relationships and understanding.  The first of these will take place on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 7pm in the CHS Library.

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