Berkeley School Board Moves Forward With Superintendent Search

The Berkeley Township Board of Education is moving forward to find a new superintendent, just weeks before Superintendent is slated to step down.

The board's personnel committee recently decided the board should direct Business Administrator Laura Venter to prepare a proposal for a superintendent search immediately, said board member Sophia Gingrich, who chairs the  committee.

The decision signaled the board’s reluctant acceptance of Vicari's decision to step down on March 31.

Vicari — who was not at the March 8 meeting due to a death in his family — had served as Berkeley schools superintendent for six years, until 2008 when a previous board refused to renew his contract. He has always contended the move was engineered by the Democratic majority on the board and was illegal.

returned to the district on April 1, 2011, at the state law minimum salary of $18,500. Vicari had offered to work for free but state law requires administrators be paid a minimum salary.

At the time, he said he would stay only one year, while the board looked for a permanent superintendent. Earlier this school year Vicari said he would leave before the April school elections, which were subsequently moved to November.

Everything changed at the February board meeting, when Vicari announced he would be through as of March 31.

"I will not be serving as superintendent because of some controversy," Vicari said at the Feb. 9 board meeting. "I will be leaving at the end of next month."

Vicari said he had received stellar evaluations from all of the board members in February, with the exception of Dawn Parks. He said he could not continue without the full support of all board members.

Several board members have repeatedly asked Vicari to extend his stay. Board Vice President commended Vicari's service and shared a joint resolution from the New Jersey Senate and Assembly commendties Fulcomer, now the board’s vice president, spoke at length, lauding Vicari's service.

In February, Fulcomer repeated his plea that Vicari stay.

"Since he is such a great philanthropist, I hope he will agree to a resolution to extend his stay at our next meeting," Fulcomer said then. "We certainly are not in a position to get a replacement at this time."

Vicari told the board members that his return to the district had saved the district a substantial amount of money because his salary is $18,500 a year.

New Jersey has a cap on superintendent salaries at $175,000 per year, though Vicari said the actual cost to Berkeley could be up to $220,000 a year, including health benefits and travel expenses.

In other business, Venter said the tentative budget for the 2012-13 school year would result in no tax increase. The budget, including the general fund, special revenue fund and debt service is $33,305,708. The local tax levy – the amount to be raised by taxes – is $26,456,346, down from $26,462,541 for 2011-12. The debt service for 2012-13 is $1,890,425, up slightly from $1,885,430 last year.

The special revenue fund is the extra state aid the district received when the state Supreme Court ruled the state had ignored its mandate to properly fund public schools. Many districts put that money in reserve for the 2012-13 budget. The amount Berkeley has set aside is $657,673.

The public hearing on the budget, which was submitted to the executive county schools superintendent, is set for 6:30 p.m. on March 22, at the Berkeley Township Elementary School at 10 Emory Avenue.