January 29, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 Franklin Lakes Superintendent search moving to interview stage by Frank J. McMahon The search for a new superintendent for the Franklin Lakes K-8 School District should be moving to the interview stage soon. The school board hired search firm R- Pat Solutions of Roselle Park in September and Michael Solokas, the district’s business administrator and school board secretary, advised recently that the search firm has all the applications for the superintendent’s position and will be advising the board of the next steps in the process at a closed executive session on Jan. 28. A major issue is the salary that can be offered to a new superintendent. Frank Romano, the current superintendent, is cur- rently making $209,553. However, based on the 2011 state law establishing salary caps for New Jersey’s superintendents, the max- imum salary a school district of this size, Trustees choose leadership The Franklin Lakes Board of Education has chosen its leadership for 2014. At the annual reorganization meeting, trustee Larry Loprete was nominated for president of the board by Michael Ben- David. As the only nominee, Loprete was elected unanimously by a 9-0 vote of the board. Board member Shirley O’Reilly was nominated for vice president by Craig Urci- uoli and was elected by a 6-3 vote, with Ben-David, Susan McGowan, O’Reilly, Urciuoli, Zolfo, and Loprete voting for O’Reilly while Kathleen Schwartz, Jac- queline Veliky, and Christine Christopoul voted not to elect her. Christopoul was nominated for the same position by Veliky, but Business Adminis- trator Michael Solokas advised that, follow- ing Robert’s rules of order, the board voted on the first person nominated and O’Reilly received the majority of the members’ votes and was, therefore, elected vice president. The board also approved its official meeting dates and a meeting schedule for the year, implemented an approved 2013-14 school budget, adopted the current board policy manual and organization chart, approved the existing curriculum and text- books for 2013-14, and approved $18,000 as the tuition for the 2014-15 school year. The board also approved several appointments. Solokas was named board secretary/business administrator, custodian of the public record, public agency compli- ance officer, security officer, and the school district’s qualified purchasing agent for the 2013-14 school year. The appointments also included Fogarty and O’Hara, attorney; Nisivoccia & Co., auditor; DiCara/Rubino, architect; Mary Beth Como, substance awareness coordinator; and Superinten- dent Frank Romano, liaison to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Frank- lin Lakes Police Department. The school board now consists of the following members: McGowan, the former president of the board who stepped down from that position in May and whose term expires this year; Loprete, who became board president when McGowan stepped down and whose term expires this year; Christopoul, whose term expires in 2016; Urciuoli, whose term expires this year; Ben- David, whose term expires in 2016; O’Reilly, whose term expires in 2016; Veliky, whose term expires in 2016; and Schwartz, whose term expires in 2016. F.J. MCMAHON 1,288 students, can offer to a new superin- tendent is $145,000. Despite that salary differential, the search firm told the trustees they should be able to attract good candidates who are now assistant superintendents in smaller school districts, and principals who are willing to accept that salary in order to advance into a superintendent’s position. The need to find a new superinten- dent comes on top of an eventful year for the school board. A former principal of Woodside Avenue School filed suit against Romano and the school board; the board fired the former director of curriculum and instruction, an action that was not sup- ported by the full board, the presidents of the local parent teacher organizations, or many parents in the district; the superin- tendent resigned; and there was a predicted drop in enrollment. The lawsuit was filed by the former principal, but a press release issued last year by the school board and administration announced that the plaintiff had voluntarily dismissed his suit. The school board and administration then began a search a new principal for Woodside Avenue School. The attorney for the former principal explained that the lawsuit was only with- drawn while the former principal reapplies for that position, which had been filled on an interim basis by a former district princi- pal who had retired. The suit sought to overturn the separa- tion agreement he signed with the school district in 2012 under which he was granted a leave of absence with full pay until June 30, 2013, at which time was supposed to resign from the school district. That lawsuit is currently pending in U.S. Federal Court in Newark. The school board’s split decision not to approve tenure for the previous director of curriculum and instruction, effectively not renewing her contract, was accompanied by Romano’s resignation, which will become effective June 30. Following the decision not to provide tenure to the previous director of cur- riculum and instruction, the candidate the board had chosen to become the principal of Woodside Avenue School withdrew her name from consideration and the district had to begin a search for that administrator and a replacement for the superintendent. In June, the board approved the appoint- ment of a new principal for Woodside. In July, the results of a demographic study of the district that was conducted by Whitehall Associates, an educational facilities planning consultant, was released. That study indicated a potential decrease in enrollment in the district of 339 students, or 26 percent, over the next five years. The school board ultimately promoted a fourth grade teacher at the High Moun- tain Road School to fill the school district’s vacant director of curriculum and instruc- tion position. In September, the trustees hired the search firm to look for a new superintendent.