With the decision on a new superintendent possibly only a month away, the Cherry Hill Board of Education held two closed-door meetings in January to interview candidates.
Meetings on January 20 and 27 were closed during the discussion of candidates, however, members of the public were given an opportunity to comment. Those who spoke focused on the role of the superintendent.
The school board will not disclose the identities of candidates.
After hearing public comment at both meetings, the school board moved to interview the candidates in executive session, which is "a confidential human resources matter," Barbara Wilson, the Cherry Hill district public information officer, told a 70and73.com reporter.
The announcement of a new superintendent would "at the earliest" occur at the school board's February meetings, Wilson said.
In the 2022-23 school year, the Cherry Hill district was the largest in South Jersey with 10,706 students and the 13th largest district in the state, according to fall enrollment reports from the New Jersey Department of Education. The Vineland school district was a close second in South Jersey, with 10,287 students.
Speaking at Saturday morning's session, Joseph Jaroslaw of Cherry Hill recalled memories of his father, Harry Jaroslaw, who had served as superintendent of the Mineola School District in New York before retiring in 2001.
"My father's belief was you had to build from the bottom up," the younger Jaroslaw said. "If a student is not great grade-wise, but good skill-wise, or vice versa, then turns into a successful and productive citizen, that is success. That is not failure."
Another member of the public, Rick Short, on Saturday asked the board not to hire either the Newark or Philadelphia school superintendents, saying the former focuses too much on the district's top students and the latter's most recent employer was not a well-ranked school district.
Meanwhile, during the Jan. 20 meeting, members of the public appeared divided on the new superintendent's priorities.
Said Cherry Hill resident, Maha Eldeeb: "We need someone who proactively works to bring about a culture shift in the district to create an inclusive environment at the schools for all students. ...Someone who makes students' social and emotional safety a high priority and implements practices that prevent all type of harassment, bullying and intimidation based on ethnic background, religion and race."
Another Cherry Hill resident, Carolina Bevad, told the board: "I hope that whomever you choose focuses on and has a track record of academic excellence, rigor, revision and improvement for our kids and our teachers, everybody at large."
At the January 8 school board meeting, the board met with Hazard, Young, Attea Associates, a national search firm that specializes in finding candidates for leadership positions at schools and districts and at higher education institutions.
A job description for the Cherry Hill superintendent on the firm's website included the job applicant's ability to be an "innovative/engaging leader who is committed to providing a high-quality education, values open-minded thinking, and strives to produce well-prepared, inspired graduates."
The job description also indicated the successful candidate would be an "experienced leader, relationship builder, and transparent communicator" and be offered a multi-year contract and an annual salary of about $260,000.
News reports indicate that as recently as 2022, the superintendents from Philadelphia and Newark schools had significantly higher salaries.
Kwame R. Morton was named acting superintendent of the Cherry Hill district in July after Joseph Meloche, the district's previous superintendent, resigned after the 2022-23 school year ended to become the superintendent of a suburban Philadelphia school district in Pennsylvania.
Morton, who was the district's assistant superintendent for Pre-K through 12 curriculum and instruction when he assumed the acting superintendent position, was not in the room during the public session for either the two January candidate review meetings. He also did not attend the January 8 meeting.
