Shore Regional, West Long Branch Will Not Share Superintendent

Shore Regional High School and the West Long Branch School District will not be sharing a superintendent this school year, even after a .

West Long Branch Interim Superintendent and Business Administrator Herbert Massa said the districts have not completely ruled out the idea of doing so.

"When you hire a superintendent, you have to hire them for a minimum of three years," Massa said on Tuesday. "What the district can do, is after a year go back to Shore and discuss the possibility of sharing a superintendent."

Shore Regional also has an interim superintendent in Renae LaPrete, who was given a 1-year contract from the district last year.

Shore Regional Board of Education President Ron O'Neill said the district is still looking to share a superintendent and business administrator and said he was "disappointed" when the West Long Branch School District decided that it would hire its own.

"We are very disappointed because we thought we would be sharing either a superintendent or a business administrator," O'Neill said. "We are still willing to share right now."

The decision not to share these services was made at a special West Long Branch Board of Education meeting last week.

"I felt it was a great opportunity to share services, but I understand that they want to stabilize the position," O'Neill said. "We always talked about sharing a business administrator or superintendent through attrition, so this would have been the best opportunity."

O'Neill said Shore Regional had previously looked at sharing a superintendent with the Monmouth Beach or Oceanport School Districts. However, both districts now have full-time superintendents.

Massa said his contract as an interim superintendent will run out in June, 2013 and that his business administrator contract will run out on Dec. 31, 2012. He said neither position has been advertised by the district at this time, but that it could happen soon.

"Hopefully they will have a successful search and get someone they are happy with so they can move forward," Massa said.

Shore Regional already has a full-time business administrator with Dennis Kotch and O'Neill said there is a possibility LaPrete could be kept for a second year as interim superintendent.

LaPrete said her contract runs through Aug. 17 but that she could stay on until the end of the month while the district searches for a full-time superintendent. However, O'Neill said it could possibly take longer than that before a superintendent is hired.

"Through the advertising and interviewing process, it would take a while to find a (superintendent)," O'Neill said.

He said a Shore Regional Board of Education committee will meet with LaPrete to discuss the situation and that the issue of whether or not to hire a full-time superintendent could be discussed at the next meeting on July 27.

Massa said the discussion about hiring a full-time superintendent could continue at the next West Long Branch Board of Education meeting on July 24.