Boonton schools superintendent steps down to run Somerset County Vo-Tech
Boonton School District Superintendent Robert Presuto is leaving his post to take over the same position at Somerset County Vocational and Technical School in Bridgewater.
His resignation is effective at the end of July.
Presuto served as Boonton schools superintendent since 2016. He previously worked for the Secaucus school district.
"I want to thank the Board of Education for their support while I have worked in Boonton," he said in a note on the district website. " They not only gave me the opportunity to lead the district, but have supported the myriad of changes and initiatives that were brought to them."
Presuto's note highlighted some of the accomplishments during his tenure in Boonton, including an expansion of the district preschool program.
He also joked about his initiation to Boonton, recalling his first snow day decision "I botched after maybe a month in."
"Equally as memorable were the immediate Facebook comments of concern that ‘the new guy’ grew up in New York (true statement) and didn't understand how the snow impacts Boonton for folks who lived ‘up the Hill’ as well as ‘down the Flats'," he wrote.
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He said his decision to leave was difficult, "with no impetus to get out of Boonton on any level."
"Professionally and personally, leading a vocational school district has been a dream of mine since I became an administrator over 20 years ago," he wrote. "As an educator, I am wired for hands-on technical career teaching and learning, and previously developed and taught several high school courses in STEM."
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He is leaving with advice for the next superintendent to address the challenge of "the magnificent, but aging facilities that have predominantly non-air-conditioned classrooms."
"It’s simply untenable in 2022 with temperatures and humidity soaring earlier in the spring and lingering sometimes into fall in our region," he wrote. "This, in addition to the [athletic field] turf being well past its lifespan, are capital projects that require exactly that (capital) to address."
Presuto's contract with the Boonton District paid an annual salary of 185,878, according to public records.
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com Twitter: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Boonton schools superintendent resigns to run Somerset County Vo-Tech
