Update: Superintendent Search Ramps Up

The search for a permanent schools superintendent in Montclair should bear fruit sometime after July 17, according to Leslie Larson, the school board member who is overseeing the search.

She said that the pool of applicants seeking to replace former schools superintendent Dr. Frank Alvarez totaled 73.

"About 14 were vetted by the search firm. The candidates came from traditional and non-traditional backgrounds," Larson said. "We are interviewing six candidates [Monday and Tuesday evenings]. Next we will whittle those candidates down for a final interview. Sometimes after July 17th we will put forth a name."

School Board President Robin Kulwin also said that the board hopes to soon name an interim business administrator to replace Dana Sullivan.

"It would be good to name an interim so that the new superintendent can have a hand in choosing the [permanent] person," she said.

The Montclair Public School system has been without a permanent superintendent, a principal at Mount Hebron Middle School and—as of September 1, 2012—a business administrator.

In February,  he would be stepping down as superintendent of the Montclair district after nine years on the job. Only a few years ago, the Montclair Board of Education revealed that it had approved a new five-year contract for Alvarez that extended from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2014. That contract called for Alvarez to remain at a salary of $216,083 for two years.

Then, in March, Alvarez told school board members that he had been hired to replace long-time district superintendent Edward Shine in the Rye City School District.

Clarence Hoover took over as interim superintendent on July 1 as school officials continue their push to hire a permanent superintendent.

Two months after Alvarez' announcement, in May, school officials announced that Mount Hebron Middle School Principal Guy Whitlock was being transferred to the school district's Central Office.

Whitlock, who taught Social Studies and Language Arts at Mount Hebron during the 1990s before serving as the assistant to Superintendent Alvarez, took over as principal in July 2010.

Earlier this month, Hoover released a statement saying that the search continues for someone to replace Whitlock as principal.

"We're not absolutely satisfied with the candidates we've had so far," Alvarez said a few weeks ago. "We'll be going out again for that search."

Finally, in June, Sullivan, who has been Montclair's business administrator for 15 years, announced she was leaving to take the position of business administrator for the Westfield school district.

The school board held two executive sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings during which they interviewed candidates for the superintendent position.

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