Catherine Mozak, Denville’s former interim schools superintendent, will assume the same role for the Morris School District when Superintendent Thomas Ficarra steps down next month.
“She was the best candidate,” Morris District Board President Leonard Posey said after Monday’s board meeting.
Posey said he hopes a permanent successor can be hired during this school year. The New Jersey School Boards Association just began the search, he said.
Four people were interviewed for the interim job, Posey said. It pays up to $165,000 a year, on a per diem basis, according to Ficarra, who is retiring from his $212,000 post after a dozen years at the helm.
Mozak has served as superintendent or interim super in eight districts over 22 years, the Denville Citizen reported in January. At the time, the school official said she looked forward to taking some college courses for fun and performing volunteer work in retirement.
According to various published accounts, Mozak was superintendent in Park Ridge from 1991 to 2003, followed by interim stints in Mendham Township, Bloomfield, the Great Meadows Regional School District in Allamuchy, and most recently, Denville.
CLEARLY IN CONTROL
Mozak will find plenty to cheer about at her new port of call–90 percent of Morristown High grads continue to college, students get Chromebooks in the seventh grade, and innovative programs such as the Classics Academy challenge gifted youths to expand their horizons.
She’s also coming to the Morris District just as stalled teacher contract talks are heading to mediation. And the district also is being sued by the family of a Morristown High School freshman who committed suicide in 2012 after being bullied.
Ficarra holds the reins until October, however, and he clearly was in control on Monday. Responding to tough questions from the audience, he defended a principal’s anti-bullying stance, the district’s preparedness for health epidemics, and the controversial Common Core standards being implemented in schools nationwide.
A trio of residents from Morris Township pressed the board for more transparency. George Moken urged a return to annual public voting on the district budget, even though state law permits districts to waive such elections when increases fall below a 2 percent cap.
“I think taxpayers should be heard,” said Moken, , a trustee of the New Jersey Taxpayers Association.
By law, school boards can revisit the election question every four years, Ficarra said, noting the district’s next chance arrives in 2016. The Morris District scrapped budget elections as a cost-saving measure, as did most other districts in Morris County, he said.
Moken also questioned the board’s policy of limiting audience statements to two minutes per person. And he asked for more information on the district’s website, such as board member biographies and an analysis of which town is driving a spike in enrollments.
(The 5,200-pupil district serves K-12 students from Morristown and Morris Township, and high schoolers from Morris Plains. Morristown High School’s enrollment has grown by about 200 students in four years, Ficarra said.)
Unlike the municipal governments of Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains, the regional school district does not post its meeting agendas on the web. Up-to-date online minutes from school board meetings, meanwhile, have not been updated since December. take some effort to find; the landing page displays links through December 2013.
‘COULD GO AT ANY MINUTE’
Moken also asked for each board member to state his or her position regarding Common Core. Another resident, Paul Albanese, wanted to make the same pitch and pleaded for an extension of his two minutes.
“I’m old. I could go at any minute!” he said, sparking laughter.
Posey replied that position statements would be too time-consuming, and suggested that the administration return at a later date with a presentation on the subject.
While not keen on the amount of testing mandated for Common Core, Ficarra expressed support for the concept–“it’s raising the bar”– and urged citizens to read the standards before forming an opinion.
Albanese also inquired about the district’s readiness to deal with epidemics like the mysterious virus spreading through schools in at least 10 states. Moken’s wife Carol wanted to know how many children of undocumented parents attend district schools.
Area officials are vigilant for viruses, Ficarra said. Superintendents across Morris County watch for big drops in school attendance, while the county Office of Emergency Management monitors any spikes in hospital admissions, he said. The system worked well during the SARS 0utbreak a few years ago, he said.
As for undocumented students, Ficarra said federal law prohibits districts from asking about anyone’s immigration status.
“We just don’t know who’s legal and who isn’t legal,” he said. To enroll their children, parents only must submit proof of local residency, he explained.
DUELING PARTIES
In other business… Sustainable Morristown is honoring the district for its sustainability efforts, at a fundraising supper on Sept. 21, 2014.
The board, meanwhile, plans a sendoff for Ficarra at halftime of Morristown High’s football game on Sept. 27.
On the same day, from 2 pm to dusk, the teachers’ union, TEAM (The Education Association of Morris), is throwing its fourth annual New School Year Picnic at the Loantaka Brook Reservation in Morris Township, at 434 South St. A barbecue is scheduled, along with balloon animals, pony rides and a guest appearance by Sprinkles the Clown. RSVP here.
That Saturday is shaping up as a busy day: The inaugural Morristown Festival of Books will feature panel discussions with nearly two dozen authors, including Morristown High graduate Allyson Hobbs (A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life). Grow It Green Morristown follows that with a movie night in the community garden on Early Street.
