Ramapo Indian Hills school board votes against hiring a superintendent search firm
OAKLAND — The Ramapo Indian Hills Regional Board of Education defeated a motion introduced at Monday night's meeting to engage an Illinois-based firm to search for a permanent superintendent, by a 4-5 vote.
The search would have found a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Rui Dionisio, whose last day with the district will be Nov. 12. He resigned to take the job of superintendent for the Fair Lawn school district.
The board previously authorized the search for an interim on Aug. 28 and the hiring of consultant James Baker as an interim superintendent on Oct. 16. However, board members did not come to an agreement on Aug. 28 and did not pass a motion to issue a "request for quote," or RFQ, seeking bids from search companies to oversee the search for a permanent replacement.
On Monday, trustee Thomas Bogdansky voted against hiring a search company, along with four of his colleagues, and was the only one to give a reason. It was the same one he gave at the Aug. 18 meeting.
"I've now talked to six superintendents, and they've all said the same thing," Bogdansky said. "Hire an interim, calm down, then do the search."
'We are behind'
Trustee Marianna Emmolo introduced the motion on Monday to hire Hazard, Young Attea Associates of Arlington Heights, Illinois, the firm that hired Dionisio, to conduct the search for his replacement. She presented a letter of agreement and a proposal from the firm.
"They are offering Ramapo Indian Hills a discounted price due to their prior experience with the district," Emmolo said. "We would save $4,400, and the funds saved could possibly be utilized to enhance advertising and marketing or toward a community survey."
Citing a New Jersey School Boards Association timeline, Emmolo argued tat the district needed to authorize a company to do a search now if a superintendent is to be in place by next fall.
"If we approve a search firm tonight, one month later than their sample timeline, our timeline is definitely tighter but possibly doable for July 1," Emmolo said. "We are behind. And we only have two more meetings after this. Then we would be even more behind."
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Board President Judith Sullivan said she had been prepared to make a similar proposal at a special meeting called Aug. 24, but it failed to produce a quorum. However, Emmolo denied having discussed her motion with anyone before Monday.
Board members objected to having a specific company presented for approval before an RFQ was issued and all companies considered.
"You've already picked the search firm, which is supposed to be a public discussion done by the board as a whole," trustee Vivian King said. "This right here is why this board should not be a party to this process. I have full faith Dr. Baker can lead us through the next year."
Voting against the motion to hire a search firm with Bogdansky and King were Helen Koulikourdis, Brian DeLaite and Aaron Lorenz.
Other searches
The New Jersey School Boards Association, which can also be hired to conduct superintendent searches, issues general guidelines for each stage of the search process, but does not specify what board is best suited to conduct employee searches.
"The superintendent search process usually takes several months, so it is not unusual for the board seated currently to begin the process," said association spokeswoman Janet Bamford. "The NJSBA does recommend waiting until after the new board is sworn in at their reorganization, usually in early January, before selecting the candidates they wish to interview."
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In the case of the last Ramapo Indian Hills search, Superintendent Beverly Mackay announced in October 2019 that she would retire in August 2020. But the board waited until March 2021 to hire Hazard Young Attea for $15,500 to conduct its search. The district went through two interim superintendents between August 2020 and August 2021, when Dionisio's hiring was announced. He joined the district in November 2021.
Former board President Filomena LaForgia attributed the delay at the time to a combination of COVID-19 and staff changes.
In contrast, Fair Lawn Superintendent Nicholas Norcia announced his resignation in April, effective in July. Board President Ron Barbarulo announced in April that the board would seek search firm proposals with the hope of beginning a search in May. In August, Fair Lawn announced the hiring of Dionisio.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Ramapo Indian Hills votes no on hiring superintendent search firm
