PASCACK VALLEY REGIONAL—Nearly a dozen residents gave their views on the kind of superintendent they want for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, speaking out Jan. 5 in an online forum moderated by a search consultant.
A permanent superintendent, overseeing Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills high schools — whose students come from River Vale, Woodcliff Lake, Hillsdale, and Montvale — is expected to be in place by July 1, said the consultants.
The consultants said they expect to receive 50 to 60 resumes, from which screening including interviews will yield six to 12 candidates for the school board to meet.
The consultant said the new hire is guaranteed to serve at least two years.
Those giving their views replied to queries on the district’s strengths and challenges, and called for commitments to communication, transparency, fiscal prudence, and engagement with parents.
Daniel Fishbein has been interim superintendent since summer 2021, filling in after the departure of P. Erik Gundersen, who served 10 years as district superintendent, and spent 27 years in various district educator roles.
The session was supposed to be held at Pascack Valley High School but in light of the rapid spread of the omicron variant, and in an effort to maximize participation, it was moved to Zoom. Some 35 residents attended.
Since early December, the district and its consultant have held focus groups with teachers, mayors, administrators, chiefs of police, sending-district K-8 superintendents, parent associations, central office staff, and student organizations to help gather input for a superintendent search.
Two consultants from Strategic Educational Advantage, Dr. Michael Kuchar and Dr. Frank Auriemma, moderated the forum.
Most district parents/residents calling in said they wanted better communication and increased transparency from a new superintendent.
One noted the controversy over the regional board’s “retirement” of the high schools’ Indian and Cowboy mascots as a recent example of alleged poor board communication.
The board unanimously voted in June 2020 to retire the mascots, which were deemed non-inclusive and offensive to many, and declined to reconsider its decision despite repeated calls from parents and the sending towns’ four mayors.
In their own words
“What I’ve seen in recent experience is a lack of respect for the family,” said Carolee Adams of Montvale, a familiar speaker at school board and municipal meetings.
Adams said she wants the new superintendent to favor “a complete restoration of the respect of parents,” possess excellent communication skills, and demonstrate fiscal conservatism.
She said the district’s strength is “our family-friendly neighborhoods,” with parents involved in schools and sports, but noted “that wasn’t respected by the hierarchy in the past year.”
Kari Solomon noted that parents are “deeply involved” in school activities and want to be involved; the new superintendent needs to harness that engagement, she said.
She added that the new superintendent “needs to understand education is not just about test scores or how many kids get into an Ivy League college.”
She noted education’s primary goal is “building good citizens” for a modern, complex world.
Michael Eliav cited three issues to illustrate skills needed by a superintendent. He warned about the chasing of social or educational fads; noted many community members felt there was not enough transparency on actions being taken; and said the administration and school board must improve on transparency, clarity and communication on all board priorities.
He gave a shoutout to Montvale K-8 Superintendent Robert Lombardy for his communication efforts.
A woman named Gia told the consultants she was “amazed” at the district’s accomplishments when she moved here and that a superintendent must “put children first, be compassionate,” and help set children up for success.
She said the district should consider adding “a little more civics into school.”
Another former Montvale school board member said that he put three children through the Montvale district and Pascack Hills, and noted the district has been “very progressive.” He noted that just because a community is progressive does not mean it has to be divided.
He said the superintendent needs to be “an exceptional communicator” and the individual needs to “have love in their heart” for students and the community and be able “to bring people back together in difficult times.”
Karina Downey said the superintendent needs to be aware of challenges faced by students who feel they don’t belong here and associated mental health issues.
She said the new leader must be aware of challenges faced by the district andbe “well versed in navigating concerns from parents” that may include items such as if critical race theory (CRT) is taught in local schools — it isn’t — and other equity issues that can cause concerns.
She praised the district for preparing her two children well, and said she hoped the new leader could also “heal the community” as another speaker stated.
Hillsdale councilman Anthony DeRosa, liaison to the regional district BOE, said the new superintendent must strive for “almost over-communication” with parents and stakeholders to keep all groups informed.
Looking for a diverse pool
Answering how they would ensure an equitable pool of diverse candidates for the position, Auriemma said his team would provide the board a list of agencies and organizations that represent groups that are composed of Black, Hispanic and Asian educators
Auriemma said the candidate profile they are developing “will drive the entire process, it will also help the board to ask questions” of all final candidates.
He said his relatives live in Woodcliff Lake and he had told them they “made a great choice” with the Pascack Valley school district.
Auriemma said that Strategic Educational Advantage guarantees that the new superintendent will stay at least two years.
“The two-year guarantee is something we take very, very seriously; [we] get you a superintendent that you can truly be proud of,” Auriemma said.
The consultant assisted with seven searches over the last three years, including districts in Secaucus, Mahopac, Belleville, Boonton Township, Clinton Township, Yorktown, and North Shore.