Wednesday, August 8, 2012
James O'Neill was unanimously named interim superintendent on Tuesday.
The West Orange Board of Education chose James O’Neill, a former superintendent in both Roxbury and Chatham schools, on Tuesday to replace Superintendent Anthony Cavanna. O’Neill will serve as interim superintendent for West Orange schools until June 2013, the board announced at its meeting Tuesday night. O’Neill has held various administrative roles during his career, including principal and superintendent. He 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. Most …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
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.
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 …
Monday, August 22, 2011
Annette Brooks said she is "very excited" to have O'Neill begin work.
Annette Brooks, the president of the Roxbury Board of Education, said she is "very, very excited" that the board appointed Jim O'Neill as the interim superintendent for the Roxbury School District, effective Tuesday. O'Neill served as the superintendent for the School District of the Chathams for nearly eight years. He stepped down in June after Gov. Chris Christie passed a salary cap on superintendent salaries that would have amounted to a pay cut of approximately 20 percent for O'Neill. "I really wasn't ready to retire, so I'm glad the opportunity came up and the timeframe works for me," O'Neill said. "I get to work with another set of educators and hopefully we can do some good things for the district. "Once they did the interview it …
Thursday, June 30, 2011
As one door closes, superintendent looks for another to open.
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series looking back on Superintendent Jim O'Neill's career with the School District of the Chathams. Click here for Part 1. Jim O'Neill did not wait until his last day to move out of his office, the space he has been in since 2003 as superintendent of the School District of the Chathams. "I took a lot out this [past] weekend," he said. "It's a lot more emotional ... [and] I'm having a little more withdrawal than I anticipated." O'Neill announced in February that he will officially retire when his contract expires Thursday. Room for Improvement One area O'Neill thinks the district could improve is in its outreach to senior citizens. "I believe the schools here are very naturally inter-…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/jim-oneill-steps-down-as-superintendent-part-2-of-2
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Departing superintendent looks back on accomplishments, challenges over the years.
Jim O'Neill said when he wakes up on Friday, he has a plan. "I'm going to take my son's car into the dealership," O'Neill said Monday. "Just so I have something to do." The day would have been a holiday for him anyway, except for one thing. Friday will be the first day in more than 15 years that O'Neill will not be an employee of the School District of the Chathams. Looking Back on the Memories O'Neill came to Chatham in December 1996 as the new principal of Chatham High School. He became an assistant superintendent less than four years later and superintendent three years after that. During his tenure in Chatham, O'Neill said he has seen the population grow while simultaneously the academic achievements of students improved. "It’s almost …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/jim-oneill-steps-down-as-superintendent-part-1-of-2
33823
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Tuesday, June 28, 2011
All the incoming first-grade classes all have 23 or 24 students, which parents say is too high.
In his last meeting as the district's superintendent, Jim O'Neill told the Board of Education they may need to consider hiring several new teachers due to still-increasing enrollment. "We have several classes that are approaching maximum," O'Neill said. O'Neill recommended to the board during Monday night's meeting that they approve the hiring of a new fourth grade teacher for Lafayette Avenue School. The most students each fourth grade classroom should have are 25 students, he said. Of the 14 sections of the fourth grade, O'Neill said, "all of them are at 25 [and] three of them are at 26. It's unhealthy to start the school year [at that level] because every child who comes in will extend those numbers upwards from that." O'Neill also said…
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/parents-ask-for-additional-first-grade-teacher
33823
/locations/4718157
Members cite safety and growing population as primary reasons for adding 82 spaces to the lot.
The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a capital project at Chatham High School which will add four more classrooms and an additional alternative of adding an 82-spot parking lot expansion. The vote came after a presentation from Board Member Matthew Gilfillan, of the finance/facilities committee, and after an opportunity for public comments. Board members also explained their votes to those in attendance. According to Gilfillan's presentation, the expansion of the parking lot will also include some concessions to address residents' concerns. He said the board will install a pedestrian path along Longwood Avenue to make it easier for students coming from that direction to approach the school through the fields in the back …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/boe-unanimously-approves-parking-lot-expansion
33823
/locations/4722003
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Valedictorian Katie Hurt: '20 years from now, we'll all look back on our Chatham days and smile.'
Throughout the 23rd Commencement Exercises at Chatham High School on Friday night was an eye on the past, back to when the first class of Chatham seniors graduated in 1911. "There were six students in 1911, three boys and three girls," Principal Darren Groh said in his speech. "Today, the class has grown to 246 seniors, 123 boys and 123 girls." Groh also noted that the salutatorian from 1911 and Sabhyta Sabharwal, the salutatorian in 2011, both chose to attend Middlebury College. For video from Chatham's graduation ceremony, click here. Superintendent Jim O'Neill, in his last Chatham graduation before he retires on June 30, also had one eye on the past in his speech, joking that he wished the superintendent from 1911 had started the …
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Chatham High School
255 Lafayette Ave, Chatham, NJ
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33684
/locations/4703779
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Parent protests that year ends too late for seniors; straw poll shows board agrees.
A last-minute discussion with a concerned Chatham High School parent stopped the Board of Education's impending vote on the 2012-2013 school year calendar. Resident Kristyn Shannon brought up the issue during the open public comment portion of the meeting. She said her daughter, a senior, had to miss her college orientation because it conflicted with graduation, and she lost the possibility of two summer jobs because she couldn’t start until school was out. “I think the school year goes too late,” Shannon said. Superintendent Jim O’Neill said the board has previously asked the teachers if they would be willing to start earlier so the students could get out sooner, but the teachers association would not agree to it. O’Neill added he is …
40.70433
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/board-of-ed-delays-vote-on-2012-13-calendar
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/locations/4608761
Monday, June 13, 2011
Residents voice concerns over the project, which will be up for a vote at the end of the month.
With the date for opening bids on the proposed expansion of the high school parking lot fast approaching, more residents spoke up on the issue during Monday’s Board of Education meeting. Superintendent Jim O’Neill said bids will be opened and the board will take a final vote on the project on June 27. Prospective constructors are submitting bids on two parts of the project: the classroom construction and the parking lot expansion. For the parking lot, constructors can bid on a large lot that would add about 90 spots, or on a smaller lot that would add 50 spots. Board President Tom Belding has said sending the project out to bid does not commit the board to constructing the lot. The board could still vote against it. Chatham resident Jim …
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Board of Education: School District of the Chathams
58 Meyersville Rd, Chatham, NJ
/articles/resident-asks-boe-to-take-a-step-back-from-parking-lot
33823
/locations/4598960
MOCK
7:21 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
I hope the Governor sees this and fxes the loophole too! more ›