Freeholders
probe joining two districts
If school districts merge, Warren County can
save cash with one less superintendent.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 • By BILL BRAY •
The Express-Times
WHITE TWP. -- The Warren County Freeholder Board plans
to look at merging the two county-wide school
districts.
At their meeting Tuesday, the freeholders decided to
explore a merger between Warren County Technical School
District and Warren County Special Services School
District.
A bill pending in the state Legislature would allow
counties to merger their technical and special services
districts into a single district.
Deputy Freeholder Director John DiMaio brought the
legislation to the board's attention in light of Technical
School District Superintendent Frank Mancuso's recent
announcement that he will retire in July after 15
years.
DiMaio said with Mancuso's departure and the pending
bill, the board should consider a merger and ask the
technical school district's board to halt its search for a
new superintendent.
"I just think we should take a position now and tell
them not to search," DiMaio said. Even if the bill fails,
the state already allows technical and special services
school districts to share administrations, a move that would
negate the need to replace Mancuso and save money, DiMaio
said.
He added that both Bergen and Gloucester counties have
moved to merged administrations.
"One person could do both jobs," DiMaio said. The
technical school board planned to appoint a new
superintendent by February so that person is ready to take
over July 1, 2005, when Mancuso retires.
Freeholder Director Richard Gardner and Freeholder
Everett Chamberlain said they like the concept of a merger
but stopped short of endorsing the idea, favoring more
investigations into the change before making a final
decision.
"I would like to see the boards meet and give us some
feedback," said Chamberlain, whose wife, Judith, was
recently appointed to the technical school board. "We don't
want to hurt the educational systems at all."
The board decided to send a letter to the technical
board recommending that it suspend its superintendent search
until the freeholders make a final decision on a
merger.
Technical School Board President David Shotwell said
during a recent interview the board had concerns the merger
bill could affect its pool of superintendent
applicants.
Reporter Bill Bray can be reached at 908-475-1596 or by
e-mail at wbray@express-times.com.
© 2004 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
|