Schools

School Board Hires Warren District Business Administrator

Peter Daquila will be the business administrator for Chatham schools effective July 1.

The Chatham Board of Education announced during its reorganization meeting Wednesday the hiring of Warren School District Business Administrator Peter Daquila, of New Providence, as its district's new business administrator.

"The high school does offer some different challenges," Daquila said Thursday, on the move from Warren's K-8 district of about 2,300 students to Chatham's K-12 district of about 4,500 students.

Daquila came to Warren in January 2006, after a two-year stint in Maplewood as assistant business administrator. He came to education after a lengthy career in financial management, which ended after a corporate downsizing in 2003 eliminated his job with a long-term employer.

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"This was definitely a transition for me," he said.

Regarding his tenure in Warren, Daquila said he was proud of his association with the district.

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"There are so many things to be proud of in Warren," he said. "You have the resources—and utilize the resources—to support education."

He said he was most proud of his contributions towards the district's integration of new technology, as well as the maintenance of distict facilities.

But he said he will miss working with the staff in Warren, which he described as "a  delight to work with."

Daquila was chosen, Assistant Superintendent Michael LaSusa said, after a "lengthy process" that began in 2010 when Ralph Goodwin stepped down from the role. After two rounds of candidate interviews, LaSusa said Daquilla "emerged as a successful candidate" from "a strong candidate pool."

Tom Belding said that he and several other members of the board interviewed the finalists for the position, and called Daquila a "very experienced school business administrator" and "the pick of the litter."

Daquila has experience in several school districts and lives in close proximity to Chatham. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. Peter's College.

Newly appointed Board President Tom Belding said he and several other members of the board interviewed the finalists for the position, and called Daquila a "very experienced school business administrator" and "the pick of the litter."

Daquila has experience in several school districts. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. Peter's College.

Newly elected members Kim Cronin and Jill Weber were also sworn in during the reorganization meeting and Richard Connors was sworn in for his second term on the board. The members elected Belding as president and Richard Connors as vice president.

The board also approved all contracts for district staff and all board appointments. They also agreed to revive the Policy Committee and to merge the Finance and Facilities Committee for this year due to the numerous overlaps of the two committees.

Weber was appointed as the liaison to the Music and Theater Boosters.

Newly re-elected Board Member Lata Kenney was absent from the meeting due to an illness in the family. She will be sworn in at the next meeting.

Warren Patch Editor John Patten contributed reporting to this article.


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