BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY——A new superintendent for Tenafly Public Schools is scheduled to be voted on at tonight’s school board meeting at 8 p.m. at the Hegelein Building, 500 Tenafly Road.
Former Lyndhurst Superintendent Shauna C. DeMarco is slated to become Tenafly’s new superintendent, replacing Acting Superintendent Barbara Laudicina, former assistant superintendent, who was appointed after Interim Superintendent Geoffrey Gordon resigned in February.
The resolution hiring DeMarco states her contract will go from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021, and authorizes the board president and business administrator to execute an employment agreement approved by DeMarco and the interim executive county superintendent.
The hiring resolution does not list a salary, and a school official was not immediately available to comment.
DeMarco submitted her resignation to Lyndhurst School District in February—effective in June—saying she wished to pursue other professional opportunities. She worked 12-plus years in Lyndhurst as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. She became superintendent in July 2016.
In her February resignation letter, posted on the district website, DeMarco thanked the community for its support and highlighted accomplishments, including passage of a $19.8 million referendum to improve schools, expanding the district with pre-kindergarten, enhanced opportunities for special education students, and expanded coursework for all levels of learners.
DeMarco was in the first year of a five-year contract with the Lyndhurst School District.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the children of Lyndhurst with my whole self: mind, heart and soul. Just as we tell our student athletes to do when preparing for a big game, I will move forward from Lyndhurst knowing that I left it all ‘on the field’…” wrote DeMarco in February.
DeMarco departs from Lyndhurst School District while it is facing state scrutiny regarding district finances stemming from a $3.78 million deficit due to what a published report described as “misclassifying purchase orders and not receiving county approval before moving general funds over a certain threshold,” practices that predated DeMarco’s tenure as school chief, according to the report.
In her letter of resignation, DeMarco noted that none of the Lyndhurst district’s accomplishments “will be inhibited by the fiscal realizations identified by a fiscal audit.”
She offered to forfeit any merit pay increases this year to help minimize the deficit, according to a media report.
Tenafly’s school board began its search for a new superintendent Feb. 12 and hired R-Pat Solutions, LLC, of Roselle Park for approximately $2,000 to advertise for and vet superintendent candidates before presenting them to the board for consideration, said school board President Eileen Pleva then.
Editor’s note (9:38 a.m., June 12): According to an emailed statement, sent to Northern Valley Press by Tenafly Public Schools, DeMarco was approved to be the new superintendent of schools.
Here’s the board’s statement:
“The Tenafly Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Shauna C. DeMarco as its Superintendent of Schools. Ms. DeMarco will begin on July 1, 2018. Ms. DeMarco’s selection was the result of an extensive search that included many qualified candidates. An accomplished educator, supervisor, and administrator, Ms. DeMarco possesses the leadership skills, experience, and demonstrated commitment to educational excellence to enable her, together with our dedicated staff, to continue our tradition of excellence in fulfillment of the future vision that the Board holds for its students.”