O'Neill Up for W. Orange Interim Superintendent
Chatham's former superintendent, who resigned amid a battle with Gov. Chris Christie over salary caps, could leave Roxbury for a position in West Orange.
Photos
James O'Neill, the former superintendent for the School District of the Chathams, could soon become the new interim superintendent in West Orange.
The West Orange Board of Education will vote Tuesday on whether to appoint O'Neill as their interim superintendent with a contract from from Aug. 9 to June 2013. He will be paid $673.07 per day.
O'Neill became Chatham's superintendent in 2003 after serving as the principal of Chatham High School for seven years. He resigned from Chatham in 2011 amid a battle with Gov. Chris Christie over salary caps for superintendents. If O'Neill had remained in Chatham, he would have taken a pay cut of $45,000 to his salary of $210,000.
O'Neill submitted a petition to run for the state assembly representing Chatham Borough, but when the borough was redistricted into the Union County-predominant 21st district, it threw a wrench into his plans.
Most recently, O’Neill served as the interim superintendent of the Roxbury School District for the 2011-12 school year.
Both O'Neill and West Orange Board of Education President Laura Lab declined to comment until after the board voted on the appointment.
In This article
-
-
Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ -
Chatham High School
255 Lafayette Ave, Chatham, NJ -
-
-
Sir
4:31 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
If you've been to any of our schools as of late, they are old, dated and in need of repair. Someone was sleeping at the wheel the last 10 years.
Ryz2it
8:16 am on Thursday, August 9, 2012
I agree that the schools need to be updated, but I think it would be fair to mention the upgrades that have been done over the past few years. The CHS lobby was rennovated a few years ago. Last year there were new drop ceilings and new lighting installed in numerous classrooms at CMS, along with new sinks and faucets in the bathrooms. I just read in a previous article that Lafayette School is getting new boilers, Southern Blvd had the old carpet and asbestos tiles removed in 10 classrooms and new tile installed, along with some classrooms at Washington and Lafayette. CMS has a new drop ceiling in the cafeteria and new air conditioners installed in all of the classrooms that had no a/c. CHS has new ceilings and lighting in some of their hallways. I'm sure the cost of projects has a bearing on what gets done, but I'm sure time is a big factor as well. It seems that all of these projects have to be done over the Summer when the buildings are empty, so I would imagine only so much can be done in the two and a half months that school is closed. Just once I'd like to see someone compliment what has been done rather than always complain about what hasn't, but that's the Chattitude. No one is happy unless they are complaining about something. Next, you'll complain about what the upgrades cost.