Poll: Is LaSusa the Best Option for Superintendent?

Tom Belding, the president of the , said the board is confident that Michael LaSusa will make a strong superintendent.

"He has been our intended candidate for really some time," Belding said. "He was an obvious choice because of the strength of his performance in all previous positions he's had in the district."

In his 11 years employed by the district, LaSusa has worked as a teacher, a co-principal at and assistant superintendent in the district.

When the board started looking for a permanent superintendent to take over when expires at the end of June, they posted the position internally only.

"We anticipated [LaSusa] would probably be the only applicant," Belding said. "A strong internal candidate is a very, very strong thing to have, and many districts don't have that kind of resource to call on."

LaSusa became assistant superintendent in 2010, and Belding said he made it clear to the board he wanted more time in his current role before taking over the role of superintendent.

The board's original plan was to have Jim O'Neill serve as superintendent until 2015 and have LaSusa take over at that time. However, in the midst of a legal battle with Gov. Chris Christie and the Department of Education over salary caps for superintendents based on school enrollment.

"We put him through the same [standards and] requirements as any candidate," Belding said. "We are comfortable making this recommendation and voting on this appointment. He’s an outstanding candidate based on everybody’s assessment."