Community Survey on Future Par-Troy Superintendent Starts Tuesday

The current interim superintendent, John Fitzsimons, has been a hot topic in the community following the statement he released, in which he said that the cuts made recently to teaching staff was because the administration has “a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of the community to not over staff our schools and once discovered, act to correct the situation.”

In the midst of this recent issue, the board of education is searching for a new superintendent and has an upcoming community forum scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 16 at Parsippany Hills High School.

The forum will “give local residents a chance to participate in the search for a new superintendent. We are committed to effective teaching and productive learning within our community and we invite you to join us as we prepare to choose our new superintendent to lead our school district,” according to the flyer sent out by the school board.

“The Board is interested in establishing valid criteria for the selec-tion of the new Superintendent of Schools (to commence her/his employment during the spring, 2014). The School Board wants to solicit opinions about the strengths and leadership qualities desired in the next leader of the district.”

There will be focus groups of faculty and staff, parents, and students over the next two weeks and beginning Tuesday, there will be an online survey available for community members to give confidential feedback. The survey can be found here.

"The Board is very interested in your input as they seek to hire a new superintendent.  This survey is designed to gather your perception on the importance of various characteristics commonly found in effective superintendents.  The information will be used by the Board to determine the “Desired Characteristics” of our next superintendent," according to the survey.

The search process is being facilitated by Dr. William Librera of HYA Executive Search Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates.

Related Patch Posts:

• Par-Troy Superintendent is "Misleading," PTHEA Says
• Teacher Cuts Upset Parents, Parsippany Community
• Overstaffed Schools Led to Teaching Cuts, Superintendent Says
• 'Despicable' Cuts Will Have 'Detrimental Impact,' Par-Troy Teachers Say