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BUTLER - BOE hires interim superintendent
(by April Plantamura - Staff Writer - June 18, 2008)
BUTLER - With district superintendent Dr. René Rovtar leaving at the end of the month, the Board of Education will continue to interview applicants for the position, but have recently selected an interim superintendent to help keep the district on track through the summer months.
Elaine Baldwin was one of several interim superintendents that the school board interviewed, and eventually became the board’s choice. Baldwin held the position of superintendent in New Milford, as well as assistant superintendent in Pequannock. School board President Rosemarie Lakawicz said that Baldwin was appointed to the position of interim superintendent on Tuesday, June 10, after a contract was established.
“Her (Baldwin) contract is through Sept. 30,” Lakawicz said. “But she said that she is available to stay longer if necessary.”
Baldwin will be paid $750 a day for her work in the district, which she will begin on July 1. Joanne Borin, field service representative for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said that this daily rate is average for interim superintendents and that in recent years the average cost has actually risen to between $825 and $850 a day.
Because Baldwin will be working within the district mainly during the summer months, she will only need to be on hand three days a week. This is a decision that was approved by the county and one that Lakawicz said can be adjusted if the need arises.
“Our goal is for René (Rovtar) to have almost everything straightened out and completed before she leaves (on June 30),” Lakawicz said. “Elaine (Baldwin) and René will also spend a day together to allow for an easy transition.”
Lakawicz said that the school board is moving forward with its superintendent search, which Borin has been assisting with. The school board hopes to have a new superintendent in place by Oct. 1, 2008. Lakawicz said that there are “no big contingencies” that would require Baldwin to leave the district at a certain time, so the board is able to take its time with selecting a new, full-time superintendent.
The board is now entering into the second round of interviews.
“Choosing a new superintendent is going to be very difficult,” Lakawicz said. “We have phenomenal candidates to choose from. I think this is a wonderful thing for Butler.”
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