Mount Olive hires Reynolds to be schools head replacing Lamonte 

    After Werner’s presentation he was backed by near unanimous support from the other board members and a woman, speaking for a small contingent of visitors from the Pequannock school system.

     After the locals had their say she delivered what could have been the “knock out punch” by saying they were at the meeting to ask the board not to hire Reynolds because they did not want him to leave Pequannock.  She added that most of the people in Pequannock felt the same way.  She said he was leaving Pequannock because “he just wasn’t getting the support he felt he needed from the board.”

    On a roll call vote after everyone had their say the board voted 7-1 and one exemption to hire   Dr. Reynolds to begin work on February 1 and continue through June 30, 2013 at a starting salary of $186,500.  The contract already has been approved by the Acting Executive County Superintendent, a requirement to hire a new superintendent.

     In addition to his salary and term of appointment Dr. Reynolds’ contract calls for a 90 day notice for termination of the contract; a 3.5% salary annual increase; family medical coverage with a $300 annual contribution; a $1,500 disability and/or life insurance policy paid for by the board; those association dues and conferences approved by the board; $2,200 a year for a car allowance; 20 days vacation with a rollover to a maximum of $15,000; all legal holidays; 10 days sick days per year with a rollover maximum of $15,000; five personal days a year; a board paid for computer, cell phone with paid basic service charges and business related charges.   

     Anthony Strillacci was the lone dissenter, not that he found anything negative about Dr. Reynolds, but his preference was for an appointment from within the system.  The abstention was from Bruce Bott who did not participate in most of the process because he was ill.  

   At last night’s meeting outset, the board cleared away its routine business in short order and Werner announced he would detail the search process with a power point presentation, copies of which were available to anyone who wished to have one.

   His presentation was detailed and covered the process timeline, the applicants’ requirements, the interview process, how information about the candidates was gathered, why the board decided on Reynolds over his competitor for the job, Owen Snyder, the assistant superintendent in the Paramus school system and who appeared to be the participating public’s favorite and Reynolds’ contract.

    When he finished his presentation Werner said he was opening the floor to anyone who wished to speak but warned, “I will not tolerate any calling out from the crowd.  If that happens I’ll shut down the meeting.”

     There followed a brief, but amusing pause as though the audience was digesting what Werner said, and  who was going to be the first to respond.

     About a dozen speakers, one by one, followed, most of them challenging the board’s apparent decision to hire Reynolds without enough public input, a lack of “transparency” in the selection process, the impact Reynolds’ salary was going to have on the budget, that a hire from within the system would be more acceptable to most residents, that the board’s own survey showed the people who attended the introductory meeting in October that Snyder was much more acceptable and the same survey  showed Reynolds’ alleged “arrogant” attitude would negatively affect the passage of next year’s school budget.

     At the October 18 public forum participants were asked to complete an assessment form for the two candidates who survived from the original 30 placing an X next to the name of the one they preferred and any comments they wished to make about either.

     At the next board meeting residents expressed outrage that the board had not made public the results of the survey.  Werner held that the survey results were part of, or a component of, the search process and the results could not be released because it was part of the search process and were “confidential.”  It brought a storm of protest.

     The results were made public in Werner’s presentation last night.  It showed of 92 participants, 60 or 65% favored Snyder; just 12 preferred Dr. Reynolds or just 13%; 14 were uncommitted for 15% and six did not return forms or 7%.

     The school staff participants in the survey numbered 40 or 43% and non staff members numbered 52 or 57%.  The number of staff members participating in the survey living in Mount Olive numbered 21 or 53%.

     The survey showed Snyder to be “more down to earth,” passionate, personable, approachable, a good sense of humor, caring, enthusiastic, good communication skills, realistic ideas, consensus builder, advocate of team approach, collaborative working relationship with teachers, administrators and community; had researched the Mt. Olive School District; experienced with state school districts; familiar with state education mandates, regulations and constraints; hands on approach to education; stability, willing to make a long term commitment; child centered and his philosophy that “all children can learn.”

     The survey responses concerning Dr. Reynolds also were positive but some found reason to criticize.  They found him to be a good speaker; that he would bring a new perspective or vision to the system; he would be an advocate for change; and was performance oriented with a history of improving student performance.  However, their responses also indicated he overly focused on student performance, test scores and related statistics; lacked interpersonal skills; appeared to be arrogant and condescending; lacked knowledge of the Mt. Olive school district; lacked New Jersey experience; concern about making a long term commitment to the district; a lack of stability in his resume; he did not answer questions directly and several were concerned about his lack of ability to work with and listen to staff.

    Werner fielded the speakers’ charges and questions to their apparent satisfaction and when one of the speakers called on the individual board members to express their views that sealed it for Reynolds’ appointment.

    Board member Anthony Giordano, an educator in a neighboring district, led off that response saying he vigorously supported Reynolds because of his concern for the interests of teachers and students, how when he started in Pequannock teachers were not happy with him but came to respect him, that he was a workaholic, that he was innovative and had lots of good ideas.  “I liked everything about him,” Giordano said.

    The next board member to respond was Kathy Criscuolo who stated that the entire board maintained its integrity throughout the process and that Dr. Reynolds presented a rare combination of a sense of business and education; that he would streamline the budget process and presented ideas that we had never hear before.

    Next, Bruce Bott said he did not participate in the process because of a health condition during most of the time and abstained from voting.

    Board member William Robinson also was highly supportive of Reynolds saying he was convinced he would take the school system “to the next level” carrying on from where Rosalie (Dr. Rosalie Lamonte) had brought the system. He said the process and the meetings the board held in this search activity were the best he had experienced in his 19 years on the board.

   Anthony Strillacci, a board member and former president several times during his 33 years on the board said he had participated in the hiring of four superintendents and believed Reynolds would optimize the management of the district as well as being an educator. 

   However, he was the lone vote against hiring Reynolds because he believed a candidate could have been hired from within the system saving some $75,000 to $100,000 and that, he said, was important in view of the budget disaster the system was experiencing because of the drastic cuts in state aid.  He also said a superintendent chosen from within the district would know the district better.  He added that any resident who would vote against next year’s budget based on their dissatisfaction with this selection process would be hurting the children in the district.

   Rob Mania, a former board president and member for 14 years said Reynolds had all the qualifications to be an excellent superintendent.  He ran a 12,000 employee company… that impressed me and I believe we are getting the best viable candidate, he said.

    Rene Gadelha, who also was an educator before being a board member, said she believed Dr. Reynolds’ experience in business as well as in education was unique and his writing and communication skills extraordinary.  She added that she found his “thinking out of the box” concerning education to be exciting.  

    Daniel Amianda said he knew members of the Pequannock board who were sorry Reynolds was leaving their system. “He was a good communicator and problem solver,” Amianda said, the board members there “saw him as a real visionary.”