Westwood Schools Superintendent Jill Mortimer announces plans to retire
After seven years in the Westwood Regional School District, Superintendent Jill Mortimer is planning to retire by next year.
“I am incredibly grateful to the staff and community for their support as I transitioned from assistant superintendent to superintendent,” Mortimer said. “I have worked hard to write parent and staff letters that are timely, highly informative, and reflect my high level of care for the district."
Mortimer, 55, announced her intention to staff and parents on Aug. 28. She said she always planned to retire in her mid-50s.
“I vacillated most of the summer, but then I finally made up my mind,” she said. “I am open to doing interim work in the future, but I want to travel first.”
Mortimer said she is hopeful that the school board finds a suitable candidate for July 1, but will consider staying on longer if the search goes on longer than anticipated.
She said the decision was entirely due to her previous plans and that recent school board meetings have not been a factor in her decision. In the past few months, tensions between the school board and the community have come to a boil, with hours-long meetings where teachers and LGBTQ+ students have complained that a new board majority is trying to police discussion about sex, gender identity and other hot-button topics.
“I have worked in high-tension situations before; it is part of the job,” Mortimer said. “Leaving because of it would not be reflective of my character.”
Mortimer has worked in education for 31 years, nine of them in the Westwood Regional School District, which serves students in Westwood and Washington Township. She started her career as an English teacher in Elizabeth High School and later at Midland Park High School. She later moved to Northern Highlands for 11 years as the district’s regional director of curriculum and instruction for the school and its four sending districts.
After earning a doctorate in 2011, she served as superintendent and principal in Moonachie and superintendent in Hawthorne before moving to Westwood as its assistant superintendent. She spent seven years in that position before becoming acting superintendent 2021, when Superintendent Raymond González left to take a position in Westfield. She formally became superintendent at the beginning of 2022.
Mortimer left on medical leave earlier this year, and the district was temporarily led by interim Superintendent Kenneth Rota, who abruptly resigned from the position in June after a series of heated school board meetings, citing personal reasons. Mortimer returned to the district that month.
During her time in Westwood, Mortimer said, she was proud of the curriculum work she did, such as revamping elementary programming. She said the district has seen an increase in state test scores, with the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts increasing from 66% in the 2015-2016 school year to 76% in 2018-2019.
Going forward, Mortimer said, the district is in a good financial stage thanks to the business administrators and current and previous school boards. She said she looks forward to the completion of the high school's media center renovation and the installation of air conditioning in the elementary schools.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Westwood NJ schools superintendent announces plans to retire
