With the upcoming retirement of our Superintendent of Schools at the end of this school year, our community faces a decision crucial to the future of our school district and the many children it serves. Who will succeed Dr. Brodow and take on the challenge of leading our district into the future?

Hiring this person is the task of our current Board of Education. Unlike any previous administrative searches, the board is single-handedly selecting the candidate as well, without any direct involvement from the administrators, staff or parents in the interview process. This is a complete and unwelcome deviation from past administrative searches.

As currently outlined and published on Edline, the search for the new superintendent only involves parent, staff and administrator input at only the very earliest stages, in large-group meetings with the search firm, Hazard, Young. The participants in these meetings, with the exception of one open community forum, were, for the most part, selected by the Board of Education. At these meetings the search firm asked for vague generalities about what qualities we seek in a superintendent or what we believe to be the strengths and weaknesses of our district.

Unfortunately, in sharp contrast to prior searches for high-level administrators, Dr. Brodow included, the board plans to end the involvement of administrators, staff and parents at this early stage. All candidates are to be interviewed by the Board of Education and only the Board of Education. While we acknowledge and appreciate the professional, legal, business and medical backgrounds that they offer, where are those in our community with professional educational backgrounds in the interviewing process? This is a critical mistake.

Why this change from earlier searches, where the input of parents, staff and administrators was welcomed and encouraged throughout the process? Are our opinions now less valuable or important than members of the Board of Education whom we elected?

Regrettably, we have noticed at many board meetings a similar tendency on the part of some members of the board to dismiss comments made by the public. As members of the Millburn PTO Conference we are deeply troubled by the exclusionary nature of this critical process and call upon the board to open the process to the voices of this district’s administrators, staff and parents in a real and meaningful way. In recent days some members of the Board have expressed a willingness to make the process more inclusive. We encourage all members of the Board of Education to follow suit.

Lisa Boldt,  Conference Cultural Arts Chair
Melissa Lautenberg Cifu, President Deerfield PTO
Larkin Cohan,  PTOC Co-President, Past Co-President MMS PTO
Marianne Connor, President Wyoming PTO
Liza DeBlis,  Co-President SMS PTO
Judy DiClemente, Past President MMS PTO
Lisa Balbo Helmacy, Past President Deerfield PTO
Ayelet Horne,  President Hartshorn PTO
Bernice Garbade, Co-President MHS PTO, Past Co-President Deerfield PTO
Jane Gomez,  Past President SMS PTO, Past Chair Special Ed. Committee
Liz Guevara,  Co-President Deerfield PTO
Nicole Jordan, Co-President Glenwood PTO
Sheri Lacy,  Vice President PTOC, Past Co-President Glenwood PTO
Lynn Linczyc,  PTOC Community Outreach Chair
Debbie Mayo,  Co-President Glenwood PTO
Carolyn McCarthy, PTOC Board, Past President Wyoming PTO
Robin Mintz,  PTOC Board, Past President Hartshorn PTO
Sandra Murphy, PTOC Board, Past Co-President Glenwood PTO
Jean Pasternak, M-SPEC Leadership Team
Debbie Rieder, Co-President Ed Foundation, Past Co-President MMS PTO
Mary Ellen Roberts,  Co-Chair Senior Celebration,Past President MHS, Past President Glenwood
Cathy Sales,  Co-President MHS PTO, Past Co-President Deerfield PTO
Sue Scheiner, Co-President SMS PTO
Shara  Schild,  Past President Hartshorn PTO
Cheryl Talpalar, Past PTO President Deerfield PTO
Mindy Tucker, Past Co-President PTOC, Past President Hartshorn PTO
Rona Wenik,  PTOC Co-President, Past Co-President MMS PTO
Beth Wroblewski, Co-President Wyoming PTO

Editor's Note: Samuel Levy, Board of Education member and Search Committee chairman, said during Monday's meeting no decision has been made if there will be an interview committee comprised of parents and school staff.