The Board of Education of the School District of the Chathams voted Monday to approve William "Bill" Librera as the new athletic director and director of Health and Physical Education at Chatham High School.
Librera has worked as a teacher in Morris County schools for the last 10 years, first in Morris Central High School in Chester, then in Madison High School, where he was also the head basketball coach.
According to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa, Librera went through five stages of interviews before he was selected as the new athletic director, including interviews with the district's Head of Personnel, Deb Becker, Chatham High Principal Darren Groh, the president of the Athletic Boosters and the school board's personnel committee.
"Mr. Librera excelled at every step of the process," LaSusa said.
Board President Tom Belding referred to Librera's father, a former New Jersey Commissioner of Education, also named William. The elder Librera worked with the district to help mentor LaSusa as he prepares to become superintendent of the district, and to help find a suitable new assistant superintendent. The search ended in March when the board approved Karen Chase for the role.
Belding said the hiring of the younger Librera was "totally coincidental. The [job] was posted, Bill applied," Belding said, though he added that since Librera comes from a family heavily involved in education it "certainly suggests he may have interesting qualifications himself. Other than that, there was no connection" between the two."
Librera's contract begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2013.
Also at the meeting:
- The board voted to grant open campus privileges to the class of 2013 at Chatham High.
- George Alexis' resignation was approved, with regret. Alexis has accepted the positition of principal at Watchung Hills Regional High School, his old alma mater.
- The board voted to create 10 new positions within the district, including: a new school social worker, school psychologist and part-time speech therapist, serving district-wide positions; a new Spanish teacher for Lafayette Avenue School and Chatham Middle School; a new special education teacher at Southern Boulevard School; a new physical education and health teacher at Chatham High; and a new basic skills, special education and two new fourth grade teachers at Lafayette.
- The board approved new fall, winter and spring coaches, including:
| Name | Sport | Salary |
| James Ascolese | Volleyball (assistant) | $5,855 |
| Chris Palmer | Fencing (head) | $6,343 |
| T. Woody Kongasmut | Fencing (assistant) | $3,903 |
| Conor Mason | Fencing (assistant) | $3,903 |
| James Cai | Boys tennis (assistant) | $5,855 |
This will be Palmer's third year as the head fencing coach. Ascolese and Cai are current district staff members, and Mason's salary will be funded by parents.
In This article
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ -
Chatham High School
255 Lafayette Ave, Chatham, NJ -
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Lafayette Avenue Elementary School
221 Lafayette Ave, Chatham, NJ -
Chatham Middle School
480 Main St, Chatham, NJ -
Southern Boulevard Elementary School
192 Southern Blvd, Chatham, NJ
ss
10:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
This article is pretty funny and not suprising! I also work in education and work for a district where politics run at an all time high!! What I see here you can't make up. People get put in positions that have zero qualifications! I'm not saying that this candidate does not have qualifications, but I will say that he lacks experience. A classroom teacher does not have the experience to run a department. The previous person that held the position did not even make it a year! And the article said she was chosen from over 70 candidates! Who is running these interviews? What qualifications do the folks that are doing the selection process have? This is embarrassing! I had always hoped that my children, who go to school in Chatham, are not impacted by the same BS that I see in my district. Apparently, it is the same everywhere in the field of education - very sad! It is quite clear by the way the article was written that this individual was chosen because of the ties he has w/the current superintendent and other board members! I am completely dissapointed in the Chatham system - everyone is in bed w/everyone and like my district, I'm sure money makes the world go 'round....real shame!
Bob
10:17 am on Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Librera is class act, if he had not gotten this job he would have gotten one somewhere else. He is a great leader, and will lead Chatham athletics to even higher standards than they already have set for themselves. Mr. Librera has many of the outstanding attributes that his father has, but he is his own man and I am sure that he was hired for who he is and NOT who his father is.
Monseur
1:52 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Dear Bob,
No disrespect to you or Mr. Librera who I do not know and I am sure he is a "class act" as you referred. However, I know of an applicant who's credentials eclipse Mr. Librera's and who was NEVER interviewed. The corresponding article, quotes Mr.Belding (Board President) as stating the hiring of the younger Librera was "totally coincidental." I find that heard to believe knowing of at least one applicant who has the proper certifications and who's body of work is unparalled by Mr. Librera. In a previous article, it was stated that Mr. Librera was a math teacher and coach for a period of 10 years. Knowing that and knowing the other applicant had 9 years of teaching experience as a P.E and Health teacher as well as 13 years of experience as an administrator not to mention being a highly accomplished H.S. coach, on paper alone it's a no brainer. If it came down to the interview process and Mr. Librera was selected because he was able to distinguish himself from "other candidates," well then I would have no room to differ. However, I know different and while the job was posted as mentioned by Mr. Belding and Mr. Librera excelled at every step of the interview process as stated by Sup. LaSusa, who else if anyone was in the running? Shoulden't the hiring criteria used include all candidates who's resumes indicate they have a great deal to offer to the children of Chatham?
Bob, I say all of that to say this, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."