Conflicts leave three Paterson school board members out of superintendent search
PATERSON — Two of the city's three new school board members — Eddie Gonzalez and Valerie Freeman — won’t be participating in the selection of the next superintendent because they have family members who work for the district.
Paterson education officials have taken the position that any board members with relatives employed by the district would have a conflict of interest if they helped pick their family members’ boss.
Returning board member Kenneth Simmons already had been recusing himself from the superintendent search for that same conflict-of-interest reason. That leaves six members eligible to make the decision, officials said.
In fact, officials said there had been some discussion about whether the third new board member — Della McCall — should be part of the superintendent decision because her ex-husband works for the district. McCall did not respond to messages seeking her comment for this story.
Rosie Grant, head of the Paterson Education Fund advocacy group, asked about the status of the superintendent appointment during Wednesday night’s board meeting.
Grant noted that the board has not given the public any update on the situation since it held a community meeting with the three finalists last October.
“I would like for the shroud of secrecy to be removed from the Paterson process, and please give us some solid information,” Grant said.
Board of Education President Nakima Redmon said the board had “paused” the superintendent search so the three new members could be briefed on the status of things.
Earlier:Sources say Laurie Newell is now the front-runner for Paterson schools superintendent
That happened during a 107-minute closed session conducted at the end of Wednesday’s meeting, officials said.
Paterson Press last month reported that the leading candidate for the appointment was Laurie Newell, a former district administrator who currently serves as superintendent at the Essex Regional Educational Services Commission.
One of the finalists, Andre Spencer, already has taken another job, as schools superintendent in Teaneck. The third finalist is Keith Miles Jr., superintendent in Bridgeton in South Jersey.
Redmon said officials have begun writing a draft version of an employment contract for Paterson’s next superintendent, with language that she said is not specific about who the appointee would be.
Redmond declined to say when the board would make its decision. “We’re trying to get this done as soon as possible,” she said.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ schools superintendent search drags into 2023
